Puckin' Right

Playoff Predictions

2010-04-11T18:14:00.001-07:00

You may have noticed this hockey blog has been dormant through the most important stretch of the season. Between moving, getting a new job, and looking for a new place to live once again, I haven't had much energy to post here. But that's going to change...sort of.

Now that the regular season has ended, and the playoff match-ups are set, I'm returning for some short, tossed-off, completely-ill-advised predictions for Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1. Here we go:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

1. Washington (121 points) vs. Montreal (88 points)
This one is pretty much going to be a joke. Jose Theodore will be out for blood against his old team, and he hasn't lost a game in regulation since January. A solid Theodore for the Caps is not something the rest of the league wants to see this postseason. Watching the Canadiens get swept for a second-straight season will bring me much joy. WASHINGTON IN FOUR.

2. New Jersey (103 points) vs. Philadelphia (88 points)
The Flyers had a really messed-up season. They fired their coach, played with no consistency, suffered some significant injuries, and getting to the postseason took a shootout victory against the Rangers on Sunday. New Jersey wants to prove their unexpectedly strong regular season wasn't a fluke. Marty Brodeur needs to get over several years of playoff disappointment, and with Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk leading the way up front, the Devils will get it done. NEW JERSEY IN FIVE.

3. Buffalo (100 points) vs. Boston (91 points)
Speaking of messed-up seasons, hey look, it's the Bruins! Who knows if half their defensive core will be healthy, or if they'll actually score against Vezina front-runner and American hero Ryan Miller. But dammit, I've got faith. Tuukka Rask can elevate his game, Mark Recchi and crew can grind their way to goals, and it's not like the Sabres are a juggernaut. This can happen. I'm going to keep telling myself that until I actually believe it. BOSTON IN SEVEN.

4. Pittsburgh (101 points) vs. Ottawa (94 points)
Let's be real here. Does anyone actually expect the Penguins to lose this series? Sure, they didn't have the most incredible regular season. But they're the defending champs, with Washington potentially waiting for them in the next round and they're playing a pretty nondescript Senators club. They just lost Alex Kovalev and I honestly can't tell you who their starting goalie is. This isn't going to be close. PITTSBURGH IN FIVE.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

1. San Jose (113 points) vs. 8. Colorado (95 points)
Why do I think the Sharks secretly wanted to avoid the stigma of winning yet another conference regular season crown? And why do I think they're secretly scared shitless to play a young Avs team with nothing to lose? Throw in the Spring Suck Troika of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Evgeni Nabokov and there's a recipe for disaster here. It's going to happen. Again. COLORADO IN SEVEN.

2. Chicago (112 points) vs. 7. Nashville (100 points)
The second Cristobal Huet starts playing like...umm...Cristobal Huet in the playoffs, Joel Quenneville cannot hesitate to go to Antti Niemi as the playoffs wear on. Chicago is a force from top to bottom, but goaltending is the only thing that's holding them back. I don't think that's going to be a problem against Shea Weber and the Predators this time around. CHICAGO IN FIVE.

3. Vancouver (103 points) vs. 6. Los Angeles (101 points)
The rebuilding in L.A. came earlier than some expected (myself included), and with Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson digging in front of Jon Quick they have a real chance to make a run this year. That said, I like the Canucks a lot thanks to their experience and balanced attack. With the Sedins rolling like they have all season and Roberto Luongo ready to prove the doubters wrong, Vancouver will pull out a tough series. VANCOUVER IN SIX.

4. Phoenix (107 points) vs. 5. Detroit (102 points)
No one wanted to draw Detroit in the first round of the playoffs. No one. They are fully healthy and playing their absolute best hockey right, and that's a dangerous thing for a team this talented. The Coyotes are a feel-good story, and Ilya Bryzgalov could steal the series on his own. But it's hard to doubt a Mike Babcock-coached team that's playing this well in April. DETROIT IN SIX.

I'll try to check in after each round. But don't hold your breath. Enjoy the playoffs.

Some Post-Olympic Thoughts

2010-02-28T19:32:00.001-08:00

I'm pretty tired, so this is going to be short. But...man, that was awesome, wasn't it?

Yeah, the U.S. men's Olympic hockey team lost the gold medal game to the Canadians in heartbreaking fashion. It doesn't matter. I know the U.S. players are having difficulty coping with the silver swinging from their necks tonight, but they've got nothing to be ashamed of, not after blowing through the tournament and playing well enough to win every contest, and not when most observers expected them to go home without a medal of any sort.

For two weeks, the men in red, white and blue played out of their minds. They twice beat a Swiss team with Jonas Hiller, one of the world's best goaltenders. They positively destroyed an experienced Finnish team and may have done permanent damage to Miikka Kiprusoff's career. They defeated the Canadians in one of the most exciting and memorable games in tournament history. And they came within one goal of beating that same Canadian team (likely to be remembered as the greatest Olympic hockey team ever) for the gold.

Patrick Kane got off to a slow start, but came up big when needed in the later games, especially against the Fins. Zach Parise showed his all-around prowess from the minute he showed up, and his game-tying goal today with 24 ticks left is a moment will not soon to be forgotten. Brian Rafalski was shockingly the tournament leader in goals at one point, and his leadership on defense trickled down to the rest of the blue line corps. Ranger teammates Ryan Callahan and Chris Drury gave everything they had on their checking unit, sacrificing their legs to so many opposing slap-shots and one-timers.

But then there's Ryan Miller. His tournament MVP honor was so deserving despite losing out on gold. No player meant more to his team's success during these Olympics than Miller. He was so rock solid from the first game against Switzerland until Sidney Crosby slipped in the game-winner today. His performance in the win against Canada alone was enough to justify the level of praise being heaped on him now. He was the key reason why the Americans had a chance to win every game they played. Miller will always be a legend for that.

Ron Wilson did a bang-up job coaching this crew. He knew all their strengths and weaknesses, and in a short period of time got them to play the aggressive, fore-checking style needed for success. Their terrific job against the incredibly stacked Canadian team speaks to that.

One underrated image I took away from the post-game ceremonies was the look and general demeanor of one Brian Burke, the man responsible for assembling this overachieving team.

While the rest of the U.S. hockey executives were looking dapper in suit and tie behind the team as they lined up to receive their medals, there was Burke, hair slightly askew, loosened tie, top button unfastened, no sport coat, and face slightly redder than usual. Burke had clearly spent the entire game in a suite at Hockey Place pacing around, banging his fist against tables, dropping F-bombs left and right.

No matter your opinion on Burke, the man has passion. He wanted to win this so badly, to prove to the world America was back on top as an international hockey superpower. They got close, yet didn't quite reach the summit. But Burke's passion was manifested in this team. They responded to his intensity with a performance for the ages.

Quickly, I'd like to say that while I'm reviled by many members of the Canadian team, they certainly deserved to win gold and I'll be shocked if we ever see another Olympic group like this again. I was also bitterly disappointed by the Russians, who laid down against Canada in embarrassing fashion. Based on his conduct after the loss, Alex Ovechkin has a lot to answer for as he heads back to Washington. It was great to see the Slovaks play well deep in the tournament, and we may have seen the end of Sweden's long run of recent international greatness.

I'm sad these Olympics are over, and we'll never again get to see this particular group of Americans play together. It's going to be damn near impossible to root against anyone that played for the U.S. in this tournament, regardless of where they wind up in the future (yes, that includes Phil Kessel). They'll always be near and dear to my heart for the joy they gave me these past two weeks.

Check back later this week for a roundup of the NHL's trade deadline activity. Until then.

Some Pre-Olympic Thoughts

2010-02-15T15:43:00.000-08:00

The NHL is officially on break, and the Olympic Men's Hockey Tournament is set to start. There's several excellent contenders for the gold, and plenty of teams with a realistic shot at a medal. NHL superstars, KHL vets and potential upstarts litter the rosters of hockey's elite.

With all that in mind, I'll offer some thoughts on each of the contenders heading into the tournament, as well as some predictions.

SLOVAKIA
Files these guys under "dark horse." It's a pretty top-heavy unit for the Slovaks this time around, with Marians Hossa and Gaborik providing the scoring touch up front and Zdeno Chara anchoring the blue line. Ziggy Palffy, 37, returns to the North American subconscious for the first time since leaving the NHL four years ago. In goal will be Jaroslav Halak, the Montreal netminder whose play this season has made many a Canadiens fan forget about Carey Price.

The Slovaks sport some other notables (Miro Satan, Pavol Demitra, Richard Zednik and Lubomir Visnovsky among them), they're mostly over-the-hill and the overall roster doesn't match up well against the more elite teams in the tournament. But, if they can catch lightning in a bottle (especially with Halak), the Slovaks will surprise some people.

FINLAND
Another solid group with plenty of NHL names to pore over. Led by the Koivus, Teemu Selanne and Kimo Timonen, the Fins have the Ruutus, Olli Jokinen, Sami Salo, Niklas Hagman and Valtteri Filppula among others. But the biggest strength for Finland is between the pipes. Miikka Kiprusoff should get the lion's share of time in goal, but if he falters, Nicklas Backstrom and Antero Niittymaki will be right there to pick up the slack.

The Fins earned Silver in Torino, but to get back they're going to need their offense to step up in a big way. Their goaltending will be great, but against opposing goaltenders they don't present too many big threats outside of Selanne. I don't think they'll medal this time around, but a hot performance in net could prove me wrong.

CZECH REPUBLIC
No question Jaromir Jagr's been waiting for this one. No former NHL player in this tournament wants to prove his worth more than Jagr, who wore his abundant confidence on his face while carrying in the Czech flag during last Friday's opening ceremonies. But he's 38, and the fate of the Czechs more likely rests with scorers Martin Havlat and Patrik Elias, playmakers Tomas Plekanec and David Krejci, blueliners Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina, and goalie Thomas Vokoun.

It was Vokoun who dazzled in Torino, driving the Czechs to a 3-0 victory in the bronze medal game over Russia. They're going to need that kind of consistency out of Vokoun again if they want any kind of chance at a medal again, and playing in the same group with Russia and Slovakia won't be easy. I say no medal this time for the Czechs, but they'll be fun to watch.

SWEDEN
It's possible 2010 will be a transition Olympics for the Swedes, or they could be the first country in over two decades to win back-to-back gold medals. It's hard to tell right now. No question the Swedes are stacked: the Sedins have been on fire all season, Nicklas Backstrom and Henrik Zetterberg are likely to be teamed up with Johan Franzen, the venerable Peter Forsberg is back for one last hurrah, and Nicklas Lidstrom and Mattias Ohlund head up the defensive core in front of Henrik Lundqvist, the breakout star of the Torino games.

But there's lots of questions, too. The defenders beyond Lidstrom and Ohlund are largely untested internationally, while health or age concern surround many other players on the roster (Forsberg, Franzen, Daniel Alfredsson among them). The firepower is undoubtedly there for the Swedes. But I have them coming up just short for a medal this time, mostly because I'm a homer for...

UNITED STATES
...these guys. I love 'em. The transition from the '02 silver medal team to now is complete, and youth reigns supreme for the U.S. team. I've already gushed about Zach Parise at length, but there's so much more to this team. Parise's going to appear with playmaker Paul Stastny and scoring machine Patrick Kane, forming one of the most potent lines in the tournament. Phil Kessel will play with captain Jamie Langenbrunner and Ryan Kesler, while Dustin Brown and Chris Drury help fill out an excellent forward group for coach Ron Wilson.

The biggest problem America faces is on the blue line. Mike Komisarek and Paul Martin are both out, leaving Brian Rafalski the hugely important job of anchoring a defensive group that is fairly green on the international stage. Brooks Orpik, Jack Johnson, Ryan Suter and Ryan Whitney will hopefully be up to the job.

Ryan Miller is expected to play every game for the Americans, with Tim Thomas and Jon Quick backing up in case of injury. Miller's cooled off recently after a wildly successful start this season, while Thomas has disappointed at times and hasn't played much at all this month. They'll need Miller to carry them and play up to his highest possible level to medal.

It's my optimism talking, but I think everything's going to break right for the Americans, and they're going to beat the Swedes for the bronze. Brian Burke has put together this group in this fashion for no other reason. It's going to be an exceedingly fun team to watch, and maybe this won't be the last time they medal in the near future.

CANADA
As Puck Daddy implored in a recent post, "look at this roster. No, seriously: look at it." Fully recovered from the embarrassing seventh-place finish during their transitional appearance in Torino, calling the 2010 Canadian team stacked doesn't really paint the full picture. Not when Jeff Carter, Mike Green, Jay Bouwmeester, Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos, Vinny Lecavalier, Shane Doan, Cam Ward and Marc Savard were all told "better luck next time" by Steve Yzerman and Mike Babcock.

I mean, this team's fourth line is probably going to be centered by Mike Richards. Mike Richards is only good enough to center Canada's FOURTH LINE. Not to mention that Stanley Cup Champion goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and all-world netminder Roberto Luongo will both be spectators for much of the tournament because Canada has this guy Brodeur who's only the best goalie of all time. Or that Shea Weber is likely to be in the press box the entire time as well.

So the biggest question about Canada is this: can they handle the pressure? It's no secret the nation of Canada's been going a bit berserk about this team and this tournament for a while now. With the games in Vancouver, all the attention's been placed squarely on the men's hockey team to bring home the bacon (or the ham, I suppose) in their national sport.

In the end, I don't think they'll do it. They'll get behind in the gold medal game and not be able to find the confidence to come back against...

RUSSIA
...the most potent offensive team ever assembled for the Olympics. While watching the Russians practice on Monday, Puck Daddy reported on what's likely to be their top line (make sure you're sitting down): Alexander Ovechkin (the best player in the world), Pavel Datsyuk (the most complete center in the world) and Alexander Semin (Ovie's partner in crime). Of course, that likely means the second line's going to drop off precipitously: just Evgeni Malkin centering Ilya Kovalchuk and either Max Afinogenov or Viktor Kozlov. No big deal.

It's beyond those top two lines we find the heart and soul of the Russian team, with Sergei Fedorov and captain Aleksey Morozov providing the leadership. Sergei Gonchar and Andrei Markov lead a somewhat young defensive group, but there's plenty of NHL and/or KHL seasoning among them, with bruiser Anton Volchenkov ready to light up the opposition when needed.

Goaltending could be an issue for this team. This was an actual exchange I had with Cam around New Year's:

Me: Yeah, I like the Russians, but all they have for goalies is Bryzgalov.

Cam: No, they've got Nabokov, too.

Me: OK, then let me rephrase that. I like the Russians, but all they have for goalies is Nabokov.

I've been known to disparage Evgeni Nabokov at just about every opportunity, even giving him the nickname "The Lawn Chair" because he tends to fold like one in any big game. Having said that, Nabokov's been playing at an extremely high level in recent weeks and appears poised to go on a run through the Olympics. Maybe Nabokov will play well simply because it isn't spring yet.

Much has been made about the renewal of the relationship between Ovechkin and Malkin, as brokered by Kovalchuk, happening solely because these Russians are determined like crazy win gold. The love and admiration the Russians feel for each other is palpable every time they discuss each other. While the Canada crew reads like a glorified All-Star team, the Russians are an actual team, the way the '80 U.S. group was a team.

That's a really important factor for the Olympics. The Russians will defeat the Canadians, providing the clearest possible argument for continuing NHL participation in the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia. And we'll have to check the next morning to see if Canada is still actually there.

Enjoy the tournament.

The Kovalchuk Fallout

2010-02-05T11:00:00.000-08:00

When I found out Russian superwinger Ilya Kovalchuk had finally been cast out of Atlanta after a prolonged back-and-forth, I certainly wasn't surprised. Not after Thrashers GM Don Waddell announced his intentions to move Kovalchuk in advance of the upcoming Olympic break.

The shock came when I learned of his destination, New Jersey. And even more shock registered when I heard about the poo-poo platter Waddell accepted in return.

Johnny Oduya isn't the top-notch defensive prospect he once was, and his absolute ceiling would be as a number two defenseman on a solid team. That's the only thing the Thrashers got of any real substance in this trade. Rookie Niclas Bergfors might become a top-six forward, and prospect Patrice Cormier is currently best known for his vicious headhunting. His season-long suspension will almost certainly harm his development, and the Devils' 2010 first-rounder is just that; a first-rounder, not likely to be very high at that.

Oh, and New Jersey got depth defenseman Anssi Salmela back, too, because this wasn't enough of a hijacking already.

If Waddell is to be believed, it's not like the Thrashers didn't pull out all the stops to keep Kovalchuk. In the offseason, they added his Russian buddies Nik Antropov and Max Afinogenov, and tried like hell to sign Nikolai Zherdev, too. A young Thrashers core centered around winger Evander Kane and defenders Tobias Enstrom and Zach Bogosian started to emerge, representing promise for a future Kovalchuk could be legitimately excited for.

But Kovalchuk and his representatives were (and presumably still are) hellbent on making history. They insisted on the NHL's first-ever max contract, a deal with an astronomical $11.3 million cap hit, taking up 20 percent of Atlanta's cap space.

The Thrashers, rightly, refused. They countered with two proposals. One was for 12 years, $101 million, an $8.42 million cap hit, somewhat more flexibility for Atlanta, and the second-biggest contract in league history. The other was seven years and $70 million, which would allow Kovalchuk to earn the highest average salary in the league but over a shorter period of time.

When Kovalchuk rejected both proposals, the writing was on the half-wall. Just as they'd done with their two previous franchise talents (Dany Heatley and Marian Hossa), the Thrashers had to trade Kovalchuk, and this time before the Olympics so as to maximize their return. Although I'm not sure "maximize" belongs anywhere near the word "return" on this trade.

What kills me is that Waddell settled for such a mediocre assortment of hockey glitterati when his reported demands for others teams seemed totally unreasonable for a rental superstar. He reportedly asked for; either Dustin Brown or Jack Johnson from the Kings, Kris Versteeg from Chicago, some combination of Marc Staal, Michael Del Zotto, Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky or top prospect Chris Kreider from the Rangers, Scott Hartnell and Matt Carle (or possibly even Jeff Carter!!!!) from Philadelphia, and Tuukka Rask and Toronto's 2010 first rounder from the Bruins.

So that fact that he made a deal with Lou Lamoriello without getting, say, Travis Zajac back is pretty laughable. No matter. Their loss is New Jersey's infinite gain.

Devils fans are understandably ecstatic, as this move adds a top scoring threat to a Jacques Lemaire crew predicated on defense and goaltending. I'm excited about the possibility of Kovalchuk on the same power play with Zach Parise. Losing Oduya leaves NJ thin on the blue line, but after the Olympics they'll have Paul Martin back. Regardless, Kovalchuk will be the most talented offensive player to ever put on a Devils sweater and puts them right on par with Washington for the East's best team.

As for Atlanta, and all two dozen of their fans, it's hard to not feel heartbroken on their behalf. Like I mentioned above, the team's had three franchise stars in their 10-year history, and they've all been traded. If you're looking for the right franchise to relocate to a colder location, let's start with Atlanta.

On Twitter last night I declared that Thrashers fans now have every right to abandon their team if they feel so inclined. This opportunity is rare; basically, it only comes if a team makes it consistently clear they don't care about the fans, or if they refuse to improve their product over a number of years, or, if after that, the front office makes a series of baffling idiotic moves that will doom the franchise or psychologically disaffect all their fans.

The Thrashers definitely tried to keep Kovalchuk, and in all honesty, his contract demands are unreasonable. (Kovy is an elite NHL scoring winger, which is undoubtedly valuable. But he does not deserve more money per year than Ovechkin. Kovalchuk has never scored more than 98 points in a season, and he doesn't contribute on the defensive end. No team is going to pay him $11.3 million a year. I'll be surprised if he gets any offers this summer better than the two he left on the table with Atlanta.) But in the end, they traded him, and for not that much.

If you're a Thrashers fan, what do you do now, knowing that players like Bogosian and Kane are going to suffer the same fate as Heatley, Hossa and Kovalchuk? How do you root for players you're totally certain will be gone in the next few seasons? Isn't hard enough to keep any sense of faith when the team's made one playoff appearance in its entire history?

So to me, the Thrashers now belong in the same category as the Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Clippers, Pittsburgh Pirates and a scant few others. If you're a fan of any of these teams, you can stop being a fan, and nobody could blame you.

But if you do stick around, well, you're a better fan than me.

Wounded B's Come Home

2010-01-16T18:07:00.000-08:00

After the Bruins were defeated by the Anaheim Ducks this past Wednesday, I tweeted that the prospect of writing about the beleaguered B's was too depressing a task. I speculated that maybe I'd write something after they finished 0-3 on their West Coast road trip.

Things didn't turn out so bad, as the B's ended the Pacific swing 1-1-1 after beating San Jose 2-1 in a shootout Thursday and losing a shootout with Los Angeles Saturday 4-3. It's about as neutral an outcome as possible for the road trip. Three points while leaving another three on the table, made all the more frustrating because Boston had third period leads in both losses.

But given the circumstances, it's hard to be upset with the three points they earned. The Bruins are quite literally stretched to their limit in terms of competent, healthy bodies. With Marc Savard and Andrew Ference likely sidelined until after the Olympics, Patrice Bergeron unavailable until next week at the earliest, and nagging injuries causing missed games for David Krejci, Dennis Wideman and Marco Sturm, Claude Julien was forced to rely on a ragtag crew of warriors for this crucial road trip.

They did a damn good job. The effort against San Jose (a team neck-and-neck with Chicago for the finest of this season's first half) was tremendous, perhaps the best performance by the Bruins this year. Without Savard, Bergeron or Krejci, Mark Recchi stepped up and played center for the first time in many years, and while he was effectively murdered all night in the face-off circle, he still displayed his amazing playmaking skills and set a selfless example for the rest of his team. The offensively-challenged Daniel Paille mustered seven shots on net and scored the B's only regulation goal. And Tim Thomas was positively sensational with 41 saves while stoning Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau in the shootout.

The good news going into Saturday's tilt with the Kings: Mark Stuart would be returning from a cracked sternum and a 17-game hiatus, and Krejci would also be returning. Awesome! But then there was the bad news: Both Sturm (leg) and Wideman (illness) would be scratched. Decidedly not awesome! It was another tremendous effort, with recent addition Miroslav Satan potting a first period tally, and Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder scoring 11 seconds apart in the second period. But it wasn't enough, and the injury list grew longer, with Steve Begin missing the third period with a leg injury.

While some resentment has crept up amongst Black and Gold followers the last few weeks (since winning the Winter Classic the B's have gone 2-4-1), I saw plenty of good things during this road trip that told me it's far too early to give up on the Bruins. Being shorthanded on so many occasions has forced this team to play with renewed focus, intensity and attention to detail, and I give Julien all the credit in the world for coaxing the absolute best effort over these past three games.

Behind veteran leaders like Recchi, Sturm, Thomas, Begin and Zdeno Chara, the Bruins are staying strong despite so much weakness in their lineup. I can't say enough about Satan, who was literally sitting on his couch waiting for a phone call as recently as New Year's Day. Begin and Shawn Thornton haven't been short on energy, and Providence call-ups Adam McQuaid and Trent Whitfield are proving they belong. It's also refreshing to see younger players like Paille, Matt Hunwick and Johnny Boychuk play with confidence and emerge as leaders themselves.

I still have plenty of concerns. Wheeler and Ryder must be more productive, especially if this leg injury sidelines Sturm beyond the weekend. Wheeler's been a wildly frustrating player this season. Sometimes I wish I could turn into Don Corleone and do this to him. Whenever I see him turn his shoulder into a defender, I smile a little before realizing I probably won't see it again for a while. Blake, you have the perfect body for a power forward. Now be a power forward, please. As for Ryder, if he isn't scoring, he can't hide his other deficiencies because he's not a complete player. He scored Saturday, but 19 points in 47 games isn't cutting it.

I'd also like to see Milan Lucic be more aggressive, which isn't something I ever expected to say. He scored his first point of 2010 on Saturday, but in his four previous games since returning from an ankle injury he was a minus-five with just three shots on goal. Maybe he misses playing with Savard, but Lucic isn't close to the star he was supposed to become this year. I'll have more on Looch in the Bullet Points.

With the offense lacking, the B's have benefited from excellent defense and goaltending. Going into Saturday's game, Thomas and Tuukka Rask have combined for the second-best save percentage (.923) and fourth-best GAA (2.18) in the NHL. They continue to harbor the best penalty kill unit in the NHL with a 87.7 percent success rate (and that percentage will rise after five successful kills against L.A. Saturday).

That's what this team must rally around going forward. The B's have played fewer than ten games in the '09-'10 season with the full team they expected to have after bringing Paille aboard. They find themselves fifth in the Eastern Conference, which is extremely admirable considering their tumultuous ride to this point. Hopefully that full team will be ready to go after the Olympic break. At the trade deadline they can get that sniper they badly need, and go forward with what they have.

There's simply no reason to lose faith yet.

Onto Around Hockey Bullet Points:

Based on my opportunity to watch both teams against the Bruins over the last 10 days, I don't think there's much doubt that between Chicago and San Jose the better team is Chicago. The Blackhawks came to the Garden and got down two goals early. Deciding they'd had enough of that, they went on to score five consecutive goals before yielding a meaningless Bruins third period tally. They are presently rolling four terrific lines, featuring eight players who've already tallied double-digit goals, sporting the best defensive pairing in hockey in Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, and getting extremely solid goaltending from Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi. There's a lot of season left, and it's always hard to tell in January who's going to be playing strongly in the spring. But the Hawks are a friggin' juggernaut. There's no use in denying it.

If you haven't seen Zach Parise's incredible overtime winner from Jan. 9, and the equally incredible sequence that led to the goal, check it out. And if you have seen it, you should probably watch it again. You should also watch to hear Doc Emerick's voice crack about seven different times after Parise beats Jaroslav Halak. One of my favorite things about the upcoming Olympics will be the exposing of NHL stars to the entire country in a way the league's current abhorrent TV deal doesn't allow. Parise is one player who will benefit greatly from this. I can't wait for America to see how awesome Parise is in every conceivable way. It's going to be love at first sight. Believe me.

A couple days after my last blog post, I was in Boston for the WFNX Miracle on Tremont Street concert at the Orpheum. I got to Boston around 12:30, so I spent most of the afternoon wandering around town. Late in the day, I was crossing the street between Government Center and Faneuil Hall when something caught my eye. A tallish man with a familiar face was approaching me while clutching the hand of a young female. It took me a second, but I soon figured out I was looking at Milan Lucic. This was about a week after he'd injured his ankle, and was in Boston while the B's were doing battle with Montreal that night. In that moment, I froze. I was crossing a busy street at rush hour in Boston, plus I had my earbuds in trying to better familiarize myself with that night's headliner Spoon. I just stared at him as he walked by me. At the very least I should have mustered up a hearty "LOOOOOCH!" but it didn't happen. Maybe our paths will cross again someday.

Is it shocking to anyone else that Henrik Sedin is leading the NHL in points nearly 50 games into the season? Not Daniel, but Henrik? And it's even more shocking that Henrik earned many of those 64 points when Daniel was out of the lineup for 18 games with a broken foot. For all the chatter during the summer that one twin couldn't sustain solid production without the other, we now see Henrik setting the world on fire. It's a legitimate debate between Henrik and Sidney Crosby over who's been the best center in the league so far. Again, that would have been very hard to predict coming into the season, especially with Daniel missing so much time.

Finally, a belated congrats to Brian McCloskey and the prolific UNH women's hockey team for winning their leg of the Jan. 8 Hockey East Frozen Fenway extravaganza. They came back from a late deficit to beat the Northeastern Huskies on the biggest of possible stages for women's college hockey. It was without a doubt one of the proudest moments in not just the decorated history of the program, but a great moment for UNH itself not soon to be forgotten. And McCloskey looked pretty sharp, too. Check out some highlights here.

Maybe I won't wait six weeks before my next post. No promises. Take care.

Will Ovechkin Ever Learn?

2009-12-01T13:40:00.000-08:00

As I described at length in my NHL's Big Three post over the summer, Alexander Ovechkin is the most exciting player in the sport of hockey and the league's biggest draw. So far in '09 he's scored 30 points in 21 games played while the Capitals are tied with Pittsburgh for tops in the Eastern Conference.

But I also wrote in July that Ovie has earned a reputation for dirty play, which first manifested itself on a grand stage with his knee-on-knee hit against Sergei Gonchar in the Eastern Conference Semifinal.

Now, following perhaps the single-dirtiest incident of his career, the league office is finally sending Ovechkin to bed without any dinner to hopefully think about what he's done.

Ovechkin has been suspended two games as a result of this knee-on-knee collision with Carolina's Tim Gleason early in Monday night's game. While Ovechkin might have missed the remainder of the game anyway, he was given a game misconduct for the hit. This happened to be his second game misconduct in three games, as he was booted from last Friday's contest with Buffalo for this boarding major against Patrick Kaleta.

There was no fine or suspension for knocking Kaleta, but Ovie was fined $2,500 for slew-footing Rich Peverley in October. There's no doubt those two events contributed to the decision to ultimately suspend Ovechkin for the hit on Gleason.

I think Ovechkin got off pretty easy, and it's probably because he's Alexander Ovechkin. So much has been made about the NHL's Wheel of Justice, with Colin Campbell's process for handing out discipline making little to no tangible sense. One pattern has emerged; the more famous the player, the less likely they are to face major discipline, like how Evgeni Malkin escaped an automatic suspension for instigating that fight in Stanley Cup Final Game 2.

This hit on Gleason is completely detestable and one that could have garnered a longer suspension based on some recent incidents, like Georges Laraque's similar knee-on-knee on Nicklas Kronwall that earned him five games. Laraque has a longer track record of dirtiness than Ovie, but I personally think Ovie's indiscretion was worse. Laraque's hit was an accident while it's debatable what Ovechkin's intention was on his play.

Since the game yesterday, Ovechkin's been defiant, saying before word of the suspension that he wouldn't be changing his high-flying, often-dangerous style of play anytime soon. His coach, Bruce Boudreau, called his star's style "reckless" and "risky."

Two games is two games, and every one is important especially with how close things figure to be for home ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Losing Ovechkin, the league's best scorer and most dynamic presence, for any period of time hurts the Capitals. But it doesn't seem like Ovechkin is remorseful for this hit on Gleason, nor does he care what people think about the way he plays the game.

This is a problem.

Ovechkin needs to know that his presence in games is vital not just for his team but for his sport. He needs to know that if he decides to tone down his physicality, and leaves these kinds of dangerous plays out of his game, nobody would fault him for it. In fact, if he replaces this brute intensity with a renewed interest in playing actual defense to help his team, he'll be lauded throughout the league.

But like I said before, he doesn't seem to care right now. And I doubt two games in the press box will make him care more about changing his style. Unfortunately for Ovechkin, the Capitals, their fans and the league as a whole, it's probably going to take a significant injury for Ovechkin to change his style. That injury could completely destroy any fun from Ovechkin's game at all and effectively turn him into the next Eric Lindros.

I don't know about you, but I think one Lindros was enough for this lifetime. Wise up, Alex.

Around Hockey Bullet Points time!

The much-discussed, much-theorized, much-anticipated Marc Savard extension was finalized Tuesday, with the Bruins' top playmaker now signed up for another seven years after this one. Savard will be in Boston through the '16-'17 season with an average cap hit of $4.2 million, which is $800K less than his current cap hit. As Joe Haggerty writes on CSNNE.com, this is a rare win-win for both team and athlete in today's sport. The team gets to retain the services of its best offensive player for seven years through the remainder of his prime, and at a very, very manageable price. For Savard, he has long-term security in Boston, which is where he's stated he wants to play the rest of his career. As you can imagine, I'm pretty psyched about this. Savard's return from his long injury has made a huge difference especially on the power play. How he gets to feed guys the puck in Boston for another seven years. Awesome.

Umm...yeah. So you may have heard about this unbelievably bizarre incident during Monday night's Panthers-Thrashers contest, when Keith Ballard, upset over allowing a soft Ilya Kovalchuk goal to be scored, inadvertently turned his goalie Tomas Vokoun's head into a pinata. Ballard didn't seem too shaken up about the whole thing, maybe because he was so shocked at his own dumbassery. I'm not sure if this warrants a suspension, but it'd be sad if Vokoun were forced to miss significant time because of this.

Seems like every time I write about a player or a team as the focus of one of my posts, bad things happen. The Bruins were playing well when I wrote about them, then they immediately started playing poorly. The same thing happened to the Avalanche, who were sitting atop the Western Conference when I extolled their virtues, and then they began to drop off. For the month of November, the Avs went 5-6-3, and all but two of those losses were in the Northwest Division. They're still fourth in the West, but Calgary has overtaken them for the division lead and perhaps their age and inexperience is catching up to them. Maybe that injury for Ovechkin will come sooner than later...

So Phil Kessel has eight goals in 11 games for Toronto since returning from his shoulder injury. That's more than the team-leading seven goals for Michael Ryder, Blake Wheeler and Patrice Bergeron in more than twice as many games for each. Do the B's miss his offense? Sure. They've played an absurd number of close games and it's starting to get a little maddening for literally every contest to go to a shootout. But here's what makes me happy: the Leafs, once again, suck. They're the second-worst team in hockey so far this year and hopefully that means their pick will be a top-three selection at worst. That player could be better than Kessel. That's what I'm going to keep telling myself, anyway.

Finally, this hysterical link was first posted on Twitter by Tyler from the Triple Deke, and I found it via Cam. This is so funny and clever that I'll forgiven the blasphemy about Neil Young being anything other than incredibly awesome. Random fact: Young's dad, Scott, was one of Canada's most famous sportswriters and for a time was host of "Hockey Night in Canada." Neil actually had to shed the moniker of "Scott Young's son" in his home country. This also gives me an excuse to post a video of Neil engaging in some serious ass-kicking.

Later.

Avalanche, WTF?

2009-11-08T14:14:00.000-08:00

You may recall in my Useless Predictions preview that my most used word in describing the Colorado Avalanche was "suck." There were big questions in goal, too many young players expected to fill the huge shoes of Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth, and lots of concern about rookie coach Joe Sacco in the wake of Tony Granato's turbulent tenure.

We're now through five weeks of the regular season, and the Colorado Avalanche are 12-4-2. They sit atop the Western Conference standings, tied with the San Jose Sharks for most points in the NHL.

I don't think this is going to last, but the Avs have proven myself and many other prognosticators wrong about whether or not this is a quality team. They will almost assuredly make the playoffs, and since I had them pegged to finish no higher than 14th in the West, they're the most pleasant surprise in the league this year.

Craig Anderson has been flat-out fantastic in goal, going into Sunday night's contest against Edmonton with a .930 save percentage, a 2.15 GAA and two shutouts, rendering incumbent starter Peter Budaj irrelevant. Anderson's efforts earned No. 1 Star honors for October, edging out some guy named Ovechkin. He played well backing up Tomas Vokoun last season yet I highly doubt Colorado was expecting this kind of output from Anderson upon signing him.

From an offensive perspective, the Avs are seventh in the NHL in goals scored, and they've been led by a finally-healthy Paul Stastny (18 points) and veteran snipers Wojtek Wolski (15) and Milan Hejduk (14). While rookie center Matt Duchene had all the hype coming into this season, it's another rookie center that's stolen the spotlight. Ryan O'Reilly was the Avs' second pick behind Duchene this year, and he's dazzled, currently tied with Hejduk for third on the team in points.

O'Reilly and Duchene are both 18, giving the Avs two excellent (very) young centers along with Stastny (a dinosaur at 23) to build around. Duchene has cooled after a strong start, which is to be expected from a teenage playmaker.

Defense has also been a hallmark for these Avs in front of Anderson, with Kyle Quincey, John-Michael Liles, Scott Hannan and Kyle Cuminskey thriving for a team that's allowed the third-fewest goals in the NHL going into Sunday. Colorado's penalty kill was also second in the league to the New York Rangers before giving up four PP markers to Edmonton.

So like I said above, the Avalanche probably won't finish with the best record in the NHL and aren't guaranteed to win their strong division. But through one-fifth of the season, the Avs have made a statement. They won't be doormats, they're playing sound hockey, they've got a hot goalie, and they're going to make life difficult for the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames the rest of the way.

Last season was the first bad one for this franchise since its move to Denver. We should have known they wouldn't stay down for very long.

Onto my Around Hockey Bullet Points:

I should have known I'd jinx the Bruins with my overly optimistic post. The B's lost three straight games this week, and went 192 minutes without scoring a goal during that stretch. Saturday night's 4-2, total team victory over Northeast-leading Buffalo last night was a great sign, and they scored more goals in that one game than in their previous four combined. Most promising was that they finally succeeded on the power play not once but twice, ending a truly embarrassing 0-for-20 streak that prompted this tweet while I was at work during the Montreal loss.

Boston will need to duplicate their Saturday effort on Tuesday when the Penguins invade TD Garden. Pittsburgh is tied with Washington for tops in the Eastern Conference. While the West has been fairly jumbled through the early stages of '09-'10, the East is playing out in a much more expected fashion, although I'll be shocked if the Lightning and Islanders remain seventh and eighth the rest of the way.

Last year's Western Conference champions, the Detroit Red Wings, came in with high expectations and haven't exactly lived up to them. Like the Bruins, they've had to deal with inconsistent play from their goaltenders and various injuries. The injury issues for Detroit run a bit deeper than what the Bruins have faced, however. They started the year without Darren "His Tears Cure Cancer" Helm. Johan Franzen tore his ACL in the third game of the season and he'll be out until February. Valtteri Filppula was poised for a career season before breaking his wrist and won't return until the end of December. Jason Williams broke his leg Saturday night against Toronto and is gone for two months (not to mention that they actually lost to Toronto and gave up five goals). Wings blog The Triple Deke came up with a possible lineup going forward (love the last name on there). Is Detroit in trouble? Not yet. But they will be if anyone named Datsyuk, Zetterberg or Lidstrom goes down.

We've seen some truly epic injuries in the NHL this year, along with different variations of the flu (David Krejci will hopefully be allowed to leave his H1N1 quarantine soon). One of the worst came Saturday night when Cam Ward's thigh was sliced open by Rick Nash's skate early in their contest in Columbus. Ward is expected to miss extended time. The Hurricanes have been a complete debacle this year, and while I'm pleased about that, I certainly wish the best for Ward. It'd be a shame if this injury kept him out of the Olympics.

Shawn Thornton is a beast. In Saturday's tilt with Buffalo, Thorty dropped the gloves with Steve Montador and issued a sound beatdown. I think he was channeling the rage of thousands of Bruins fans who hate Montador for his indescribably lousy play at the end of last year. But Thornton was just getting started. As the game was winding down, Thorty threw down with Paul Gaustad, and he fared worse than Montador. In short: don't fuck with Shawn Thornton. With Milan Lucic not likely to fight much upon his return, Thornton proved he can handle the fighting load.

Mr. Wyshynski (congrats to him for living up to his nickname) listed the "ten most brutal injuries of the decade" and you should check it out if you can stomach them. I still cringe over the Patrice Bergeron concussion. How Randy Jones only got two games for that hit continues to make me boil.

That's all for now. Tune in next time for a very special post of Puckin' Right. (It probably won't be that special. I just wanted to make a very thin reference to the most underrated cartoon of all time, Clone High).

New-look Bruins standing tall

2009-10-26T14:47:00.000-07:00

I should be posting here more often, since we're already 10 games into the season for most teams and this will mark the first ever Puckin' Right post to go up during regular season play. I'd like to get into a regular posting format groove where I try to post three or four days a week. The posts will have a central focus at first, followed by a series of bullet points to discuss things from around the hockey universe. We'll see how it goes, and following the World Series I definitely expect to be posting here with more regularity.

The Bruins are coming off a whirlwind week of activity. I couldn't imagine feeling much worse about the team's uneven start after losing 4-1 to the Phoenix Coyotes. Sitting at 3-4-1, showing no real signs of consistency anywhere on the ice and no cap space to inject new blood, I honestly began to wonder if the Bruins were the team I thought they were. I had no idea how many things would change in so short a period of time.

In the blink of an eye, Chuck Kobasew was dealt to Minnesota, Milan Lucic and Marc Savard were placed on IR, Brad Marchand and Vladimir Sobotka were recalled from Providence, and Daniel Paille was picked up from Buffalo in the first-ever Bruins-Sabers trade. Talk about a shakeup, and Claude Julien's new-look bunch has responded.

They battled Nashville at home to a 3-2 victory Wednesday. On Thursday they played the dynamic Phildelphia crew to a 4-3 SO loss, and earned their best win of the season Saturday at Ottawa, scoring two goals in the final 1:32 and later winning on a Patrice Bergeron beaut in the shootout.

As you can imagine, I'm feeling a lot better. The infusion of Marchand and Sobotka (two young, well-rounded forwards that should have made this team out of training camp if not for the cap situation at the time) have provided a tremendous amount of energy. I can tell Marchand is here to stay after watching his great puck-handling and speed through three games, not to mention some already-evident chemistry with Bergeron and Michael Ryder.

The penalty kill has already improved, and defensive banger Paille has been part of that improvement. Going into the Predators game, the Bruins were killing at just a 69 percent clip, but they haven't allowed power play goal in eight opportunities since.

Both goaltenders were also strong in all three contests. I could not have been more proud with Tuukka Rask's performance in Philly, stopping 39 shots in a hostile environment against one of the most stacked offenses in the NHL. Tim Thomas was superb against both Nashville and Ottawa, coming up with this insane stop on Daniel Alfredsson on Saturday. Remember in my preview how I was glad the Bruins' goaltending was one area I didn't have to worry? Well, I was definitely worried there for a while. It doesn't look like Thomas is going to be the same guy he was last year, and Rask is very much a rookie. But hopefully the good will come more often than the bad.

Through all the struggles so far, I've kept telling myself that I don't want a repeat of last year. The Bruins on '08-'09 got off to a torrid start before slowing down in the second half, and didn't have enough in the tank to beat an inferior team in the playoffs. If the B's are going to have issues, it's best to get them out of the way now.

I've mentioned here before that Pittsburgh didn't look like a playoff team as late as February last season and were skating with the Cup a few months later. It's such a long season that it scarcely matters how well (Colorado, Los Angeles) or how poorly (Detroit, Anaheim, Carolina) teams are playing in the last week in October.

Lucic and Savard are going to be missed, but the Bruins just have to tread water until they return. The indication I've seen from these last three games is that these Bruins are motivated, resilient, and are just now rounding into form as the Eastern Conference powerhouse they should be.

Onto the first edition of Puckin' Right's Around Hockey Bullet Points:

A lot is being made on the hockey blogosphere about five vicious hits that came out of last weekend's games. I'm not going to link to Tuomo Ruutu's astoundingly dirty, totally illegal hit on Darcy Tucker because Ruutu a) plays for Carolina and doesn't deserve to be glorified and b) has the last name Ruutu and probably shouldn't be allowed to play in the league anyway. Steve Ott, same thing, but I'll link to his anyway. There were, however, a couple of shocking culprits dishing out the pain. I agree with most that Mike Richards' check on David Booth was an unfortunate accident. We're talking about Mike Richards here, folks. But Rob Scuderi's truly despicable hit came out of left field. He literally tried to separate Jason Chimera's lower half from his upper half. This would be like Jon Lester throwing at a someone's head. I'm not sure what to make of it.

On a better note, Willie Mitchell's re-arrangment of Jonathan Toews' entire body was the best hit I've seen all year. I agree with the announcers, as well; the officials totally blew that entire situation.

The best player in the league has been...Anze Kopitar? Really? Indeed. I mentioned above the improbable start for the Kings, and Kopitar's scalding-hot scoring touch is a big reason why L.A. is 8-4-0 thus far. He's been held pointless in just one game so far with five goals and three assists in just the last three games. Can he, and the Kings, keep it up? Nope. But it'll be fun while it lasts.

Marian Gaborik has 15 points with the Rangers and looks completely comfortable playing in New York with his new team. Because I've written that, I'm sure his hamstring will explode before you're done reading this sentence.

Finally, a proud moment for all UNH hockey fans as James van Riemsdyk, the highest draft choice in school history, potted his first career NHL goal in the waning moments of Philadelphia's 4-1 victory over Florida Saturday night. Congrats to JVR, and as one of the video commenters said, it's just one if many to come.

Until next time...

Boston Bruins Preview 2009-2010

2009-09-29T08:57:00.000-07:00

May 11, 1972.

The Boston Bruins, with a 3-2 lead over the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Final, sojourned to Madison Square Garden to clinch their second championship in three seasons. Bobby Orr, the greatest defenseman to ever put on a uniform, scored a goal and added an assist. Franchise legend Gerry Cheevers shut out the Rangers, and the Big Bad Bruins won 3-0, capturing the Stanley Cup.

That's the last time the Bruins touched Lord Stanley’s Cup. This was the same year Richard Nixon was elected president for a second time, tragedy marred the Munich Olympics, and the Rolling Stones released Exile on Main St. If it feels like a long time ago, that’s because, well, it was a long time ago.

The Bruins have lost in the Stanley Cup Final five times since 1972, once to the Broad Street Bullies, twice to the dynastic Canadiens and twice to the dynastic Oilers. They’ve finished the regular season with over 100 points three times this decade, but last season’s second round defeat at the hands of Carolina marked their furthest advancement of the decade as well.

It’ll be 38 Cup-less years come this May. But, for the first time since Cam Neely and Raymond Bourque made Causeway Street buzz, there’s something different in the air surrounding this franchise. It’s the feeling of hope, the feeling of having a chance, and the feeling that the Stanley Cup drought won’t live to be 39.

The offseason of tumult is over. The Walker goal and Tim Thomas’ sprint off the ice are distant memories. None of that matters now. After a strong preseason, the Bruins will open up Thursday night in front of a sold out TD Bank Garden against one of the league’s best squads, the Washington Capitals.

The Bruins of 2009-2010 will be deep. They’ll be well-rounded. They’ll be out for revenge. They’ll play smart. They’ll play tough. They’ll be well-coached. They’ll prey on weaker teams. They’ll give the best teams fits. They’ll not be rolling over for anyone.

The Bruins of 2009-2010 will be the best team in the NHL. Better than Pittsburgh. Better than Washington. Better than Detroit. Better than San Jose. They will win the Eastern Conference. They will win the Stanley Cup for the first time in 38 years.

I’m going to tell you why.

TOP TWO FORWARD LINES:

(LW) - 17 Milan Lucic (C) - 91 Marc Savard (RW) - 16 Marco Sturm

(LW) - 26 Blake Wheeler (C) - 46 David Krejci (RW) - 73 Michael Ryder

The only difference here is Sturm taking the place of Phil Kessel on the top line. I know I’ve used a lot of negative words here on Sturm, as recently as last week. But I want to believe that he can still contribute at a high level. Is he going to score 36 goals just as a result of playing with Savard? It’s doubtful. But he did score 27 goals in each of his last two full seasons. He doesn’t have to replace Kessel’s production. He just has to be part of the replacement, and stay healthy.

Savard is about to enter his walk year, and I’m ready to watch him explode for a career season. He scored 88 points last year, and the century mark is definitely within reach. Savard feels slighted after not being invited to participate in Team Canada’s Olympic training camp. Every time he takes the ice this year, Savard will want to prove to Steve Yzerman and Mike Babcock that they made a terrible mistake. Between that and his contract year, Savard will be one of the best centers in the East.

And if you decide to mess with either Savard or Sturm, you’ll have to face the wrath of Milan Lucic. Just ask Chris Neil. The Legend of Looch grows by the second. At 21, he’s now the seminal young star of the Bruins with Kessel off to Toronto. He’ll look to improve on his 42 points from last year, and continue his development as one of the truly dynamic power forwards in today’s NHL. Bruins fans love Lucic. By the end of this year, the entire town will love him. He’ll be paid handsomely as an RFA next summer. ’09-’10 will be remembered as the season the Boston Bruins became Milan Lucic’s team.

David Krejci appears ready to play in Thursday’s opener, which is more than welcome news following offseason hip surgery and no participation in preseason games. It speaks volumes that Krejci was the first player the B’s worked to keep in a tough offseason. It also speaks volumes about Krejci that he was willing to take less to stay. The best thing about Krejci is that his finest years are still to come.

The beneficiaries of Krejci’s playmaking talents will once again be Wheeler and Ryder. There was a stretch in November and December where this line was simply unstoppable. Both Krejci and Wheeler declined a bit in production down the stretch, in particular Wheeler. The young, sizable winger added 15 pounds of bulk, and he expects to be able to keep a high level of play all year. Like Lucic, he’ll be looking to improve from the 40-point range. Oh, and adding a little toughness might not be such a bad idea, either.

Michael Ryder must be in love with Claude Julien. Something about Julien’s style brings out the very best in Ryder. A year after potting just 14 goals during his last year with Montreal, he returned to his former junior and Canadiens coach and scored 27 goals including 10 on the power play. He’s a true veteran sniper, a fantastic character guy in the room, and someone that really grew on me last year.

These top two lines should be amongst the best and most productive in the league. In the Eastern Conference, they’ll only be rivaled by Washington and Philadelphia. What’s impressive about these six forwards is that they’re all complete players, as evidenced by their plus/minus numbers from last season.

Player	+/-
David Krejci	37 (1^st in NHL)
Blake Wheeler	36 (2^nd in NHL)
Michael Ryder	28
Marc Savard	25
Milan Lucic	17
Marco Sturm (19 games)	9

BOTTOM TWO FORWARD LINES

(LW) - 28 Mark Recchi (C) - 37 Patrice Bergeron (RW) -12 Chuck Kobasew

(LW) - 61 Byron Bitz (C) - 27 Steve Begin (RW) - 22 Shawn Thornton

Fact: The Bruins’ third line is better than the second line of 80 percent of NHL teams. Fact: The Bruins’ third line is going to be even better this year.

That’s because they’ll be getting full years out of both Recchi and Bergeron. Recchi is 41, and enjoyed his time with the B’s last year enough that he took a pay cut to return. A few days ago NESN was showing a classic Bruins/Penguins game from the 1991 Wales Conference Final and there was a young Recchi, scoring a key goal for the Pens in the old Garden. (That goal comes about three minutes into this video, but check out the whole thing. There’s some great goals by Neely, Bourque, Mario Lemieux, some horrendous hairdos, and, of course, the glory of Mike Milbury). Recchi has much less hair, much less speed, but still has the desire to win a third Stanley Cup.

As for Bergeron, it finally appears the concussion issues are behind him, and he’s ready to go back to the player he was from 2005 to 2007 (143 points in 158 games). With Krejci not expected to miss any time because of his hip surgery, the pressure on Bergeron will not be as significant as a result. It’s hard to believe Bergeron is only 24, and still hopefully has many great years ahead.

You have to have players like Chuck Kobasew if you want to win the Cup. At different times during the second half last year, the grit and guile of this team was questioned, but Kobasew was the one guy that gave 110 percent effort on every shift. I’ve made a lot about Kobasew’s ability to play in the postseason through two broken ribs, but that’s really all you need to know about him. If you want to see the living personification of what a hockey player should be, look no further than No. 12.

Byron Bitz, a Cornell man, is pretty close to Kobasew in terms of effort, and this will be his first full year in the NHL. Bitz has terrific hands and some fine moves around the net. Steve Begin comes over from Montreal to provide some fight along with Garden favorite Shawn Thornton, who proved last year that he’s a lot more than a goon. The B’s are also going to carry Vladimir Sobotka and he could start Thursday night if Begin’s groin is acting up. This fourth line will be tough, provide energy and might surprise teams with some scoring touch. I predict Bitzy scores 15 goals this year.

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS

33 Zdeno Chara – 53 Derek Morris

6 Dennis Wideman – 21 Andrew Ference

45 Mark Stuart – 48 Matt Hunwick

Anyone who said Mike Green deserved to win the Norris Trophy last year over Chara because he scored 31 goals had to be kidding. Chara was the most indispensible player on the East’s best team. There was nothing he didn’t do well last year, whether it was getting the puck to his best forwards on the power play, shutting down the best scorers in the league, killing off five-on-threes all by himself, shooting the daylights out of the puck, or destroying opposing goons with his ridiculous fighting style. Can he repeat his performance this year? The odds are stacked against him. But he has more help this time around.

Gone is Aaron Ward, a great veteran with a stay-at-home style, replaced by a more mobile veteran in Derek Morris. It’s a different style for Chara to get used to, but Morris creates many more opportunities from an offensive perspective. He’s a leader that’s been around the league for a long time, and he’s been a perfect with Boston so far.

I hate to put too much pressure on these guys, but the success of the Bruins’ defense this year is mostly dependent on how Wideman and Ference play. Wideman scored 50 points last year and was a phenomenal plus-32, but his production faded in the second half. Ference had surgery on his pesky groin, and it’s expected he should be good to go for a full season. When he’s not busy pissing off old Bruins, Ference is a talented guy, but I’m not sure he’s a top-four defenseman on a Cup-caliber team. These guys have an awful lot to prove in my opinion, but they’re both young and both up to the task.

Mark Stuart played well in the postseason this past spring, and progressed significantly during the year. It appears he’ll be paired with Matt Hunwick, the spleen-less wonder with a newly-minted contract. His 27 points last year were actually amongst the best for NHL rookie defensemen, so he should be even better and will see time on the power play. He was also pretty versatile last year, playing some games at forward.

Johnny Boychuk, a 25-year-old scoring specialist, will open the year as the seventh guy. From top to bottom, I’m confident the B’s will have great defense once again. Switching out Ward for the younger, dynamic Morris won’t hurt a blue line crew that allowed the fewest goals in the NHL just a year ago.

GOALTENDERS

35 Tim Thomas - 40 Tuukka Rask

The Tim Thomas story is one that you’ll likely hear a lot more about come Olympic time, when hopefully Timmy will be the starter leading the Red, White and Blue to a medal of some hue. Four years as a starter at UVM, several minor league stints all across North America, professional stints in Finland and Sweden, finally making his NHL debut with the B’s at age 28, then year after year of inconsistency and shuttling back and forth to Providence. Hell, even last year it seemed he’d have to share time with Manny Fernandez.

Fernandez got hurt, and Timmy took advantage. The numbers speak for themselves: 36-11-7, 2.10 GAA, .933 SV% and 5 SHO. He took home the Vezina Trophy and a $20 million contract for his efforts. Sure, the Walker goal looms large for Timmy more than anyone else. There’s plenty of questions about whether his wide-open, Brodeur-esque style is conducive to winning the Stanley Cup. I say yes. Umm, hasn’t Brodeur won three Cups? I don’t see it being a problem. Will Timmy be as good as he was last season? That’s an awful lot to ask. I’m doubtful he’ll be as good, but he doesn’t necessarily have to be. He can be close, and the B’s will be in just as solid of a position.

Behind him is Rask, the young phenom whose time to play in the NHL has come. I’d feel very confident going forward with the 22-year-old Finn should something happen to the 35-year-old Thomas. Rask was terrific in last year in preseason, in Providence, in his one NHL appearance shutting out the Rangers, and again this preseason. I’m stoked to see what kind of NHL goalie he’ll become. As an RFA after this year, he could be dangled as a trade chip.

Goaltending is the biggest gamble in this game. When you feel confident about your goaltending, that’s half the battle. I’m happy that goaltending is an area on the Bruins I scarcely have to worry about.

SOME OTHER ITEMS WORTH MENTIONING

Julien was honored last season as the NHL’s best coach with the Jack Adams Award, an honor he certainly deserved. The Bruins, after finishing 8^th and exiting following an epic first round tilt with the Dirty Habs in ’07-’08, weren’t expected to be one of the top teams in the East this past season. I remember just being excited about them potentially having home-ice in a first round series. Expectations were exceeded throughout the regular season.

The question now is whether Julien can guide his troops through a season where expectations are high. The target will be on their backs after so much success last year, and people like me believe they should be the league’s best team. Julien is a strong motivator who stresses defense and complete play, so I personally don’t expect a letdown from these guys. The way last season ended should be motivation enough for the many returning warriors.

Peter Chiarelli has minimal cap room but has five of the first 60 picks in next year’s draft, which is expected to be much deeper than this year’s draft. I mentioned Ilya Kovalchuk in my NHL preview last week. He’s likely to be the top name available at the deadline if he doesn’t come to an agreement with the Thrashers before then. It’s possible the B’s won’t need someone like Kovalchuk, and based on what I’ve gone over here, perhaps adding a big defenseman will be more important. It’s hard to predict that now.

OK, time to wrap this up. It’s been a tough summer, dealing with the hurt from how last season ended. I don’t think I’m crazy in believing the B’s can win the Cup this year with the complete, strong team they have. They just have to get it done. Thirty-eight years will not become 39. It starts Thursday.

Expect some live-tweeting action as the Bruins look to embarrass Alexander Ovechkin and the rest of the Capitals. See you then.

Useless Predictions: NHL '09-'10 Preview

2009-09-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

With each passing day, with each meaningless preseason goal and fight, we near the dawn of a new NHL season. It'll be my first as a hockey blogger and full-fledged reborn puckhead, and after the Patriots' miserable performance on Sunday I couldn't be more excited for the Bruins and the rest of the NHL to return.

So allow me to offer some ill-advised, completely useless predictions for the upcoming season. Lots of things will happen between now and when the Stanley Cup is hoisted next June, so don't be surprised if I'm totally wrong on so much of what I'm about to say. It will at least be fun to look back and see how much of an idiot I am when that time comes. Here we go:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division:
1. Pittsburgh Penguins
These Penguins will be very similar to the team that won the Cup last spring, with some minor losses on defense. It may be forgotten now, but the Penguins were plagued by inconsistency during last season and it wasn't until a coaching change that things began to turn around. More consistency this year will be achieved if Marc-Andre Fleury can channel his SCF Game 6 and 7 supremacy into an entire season. I wouldn't bet on that, but Pittsburgh could be an even better team this year.

2. Philadelphia Flyers
I badly want to like this Flyers team: Jeff Carter and Mike Richards are two of the best all-around players in the league; Scott Hartnell mixing scoring and toughness; the potential of a Riley Cote-Ian Laperriere-Dan Carcillo "Let Me Hand You Your Own Ass" line (591 combined PIMs last year); young stars on the rise like Claude Giroux and former UNHer James van Riemsdyk; and the ballsy move to try Ray Emery at goal. But, alas, they have Chris Pronger. Can I root for them as long as he's not on the ice? Please?

3. New Jersey Devils
Was the re-hiring of Jacques Lemaire a cry for help or another genius stroke for Lou Lamoriello? We're going to find out this year, and it won't be easy. The Devils lost a lot and didn't really gain much, with Brian Gionta and several other vets jumping ship. Patrik Elias is already hurt, but steady production should again come from Zach Parise (45 goals last year) and Travis Zajac (42 assists). Martin Brodeur needs to prove at 37 that he can withstand a full season and take New Jersey deep in the playoffs (he hasn't done the latter in several years).

4. New York Rangers
I have the Rangers barely squeaking into the playoffs, but not because of anything they did special this offseason. They trade perennial albatross Scott Gomez to the Canadiens for some solid young pieces, but then immediately replace him with the brittle Marian Gaborik for a similarly huge cap hit. Win some, lose some. At least with John Tortorella and Sean Avery around, the Rangers won't be too far removed from the headlines. It'll probably be more interesting than anything actually happening on the ice.

5. New York Islanders
It's probably not a great sign for the Isles and Rick DiPietro that they had to sign both Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron this offseason as insurance. Fifteen-year contracts should probably be avoided at all costs in this league. The #1 overall pick in this year's draft, John Tavares, ought to be relatively close to the NHL mid-season. Otherwise, there's no reason to care about this team.

Northeast Division:
1. Boston Bruins
My B's preview will be coming at some point before the Oct. 1 opener. Until then, I'll reserve extended comment on the team, but I'll break some suspense right now. I have the Bruins as the East's #1 seed, and yes, winning the Stanley Cup next spring. Shocking, I know.

2. Buffalo Sabres
Lindy Ruff's crew missed the playoffs for a second straight year in '08-'09, so I don't expect the third time to be a charm. It might be difficult with Ryan Miller expected to be a major part of Team USA's chances at the Olympics. Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville and Derek Roy are part of a group of excellent forwards that should lead the Sabres back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. People in Buffalo need something to cheer about, right?

3. Montreal Canadiens
After the debacle that was the Canadiens' July 1, the Habs rounded out their extreme makeover with the likes of character forward Travis Moen and veteran defenseman Paul Mara, amongst others. But it's hard for me to believe that such wholesale changes will lead to success this year in Montreal. The stink from last season won't be going away anytime soon. I have the Habs missing the playoffs this year. Too much change, too much uncertainty, too much pressure, too much Bob Gainey.

4. Ottawa Senators
The Dany Heatley saga is over, and in his place will be Milan Michalek and someone I think is named Jonathan Cheechoo but may actually be this guy instead. They also added Alex Kovalev, and they need to hope he actually shows up all the time unlike last year during the putrid Montreal season. The Sens are banking a lot on Pascal Leclaire this year in a town known for ripping underachieving goalies to pieces. I'm not sure it's going to end well.

5. Toronto Maple Leafs
Adding Phil Kessel to the Truculent Bunch isn't going to make the Leafs good for this year. Kessel, who won't even play until November anyway, is the only scoring threat on the entire team and nobody on the roster jumps out as a potential center to feed him the puck like Marc Savard. Brian Burke added a lot of meat to this team's defense, so at the very least if they can't score goals they won't give up as many.

Southeast Division
1. Washington Capitals
Scoring will not be an issue with these Capitals, what with prolific scorers Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, Brooks Laich, Mike Green and new additions Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison. The presence between the pipes could become an issue, with Jose Theodore reclaiming the job he lost to Simeon Varlamov during the playoffs. Theodore is one of the most embattled goalies of his generation, and it's hard to believe he actually won a Hart Trophy once. If their goaltending rounds into form, the Caps will be hard to beat.

2. Carolina Hurricanes
Fuck off.

3. Florida Panthers
Sure, it's been rough for the Panthers through their relatively short history. For much of last year it seemed like they at least had a shot at getting in the postseason, and finished tied for the 8th spot but lost out on tiebreakers to the Canadiens. I'm personally grateful since beating the Panthers in the opening round wouldn't have been as sweet. I'm not sure what to expect this year for Florida, their first in several without Jay Bouwmeester. Scott Clemmensen should provide some stability in net.

4. Atlanta Thrashers
It's been pretty funny to watch the Thrashers try to convince Ilya Kovalchuk to stay through any move short of actually extending his contract. They sign his countryman Nik Antropov and ran very hard at another Russian Nikolai Zherdev. They added mobile defender Pavel Kubina to get him the puck. I'm not sure it's going to matter, and Kovalchuk could be available in a trade this season. Considering the pieces the Bruins acquired recently, I'd die to see Kovalchuk in Black and Gold. Make it happen, Chiarelli!

5. Tampa Bay Lightning
How the mighty fall. This franchise won the Cup five years ago? Really? No, I mean, really? When Barry Melrose can't save your team, no one can. Victor Hedman looks like a real #1 defenseman. If that's all Tampa has to look forward too, maybe it's time to think about rooting for the Rays...er...the Bucs...er...nevermind.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central Division:
1. Detroit Red Wings
A lot has been made about Detroit's offseason losses, and because of the salary cap their relative inability to replace those losses with anyone of substance. A lot has been made about how they can't possibly go deep into the playoffs for a fourth straight year. A lot has been made about potential Team Canada distractions for Mike Babcock, and how so many key players have major Olympic commitments. But these are the Red Wings. Given how last season ended, I don't see a scenario under which this team isn't in it to the very end.

2. Columbus Blue Jackets
Yeah. That just happened. I don't expect the BJs to be too much better than Chicago, maybe only a point or two, but this preview is about taking chances. Why not take one here? Think of Steve Mason as a rock band; after a successful debut, the second album/season is always very tough. The success of Ken Hitchcock's young team will depend on that. Rick Nash is oh-so-close to breaking through as an NHL super-duper star, and I'm excited to see that happen if Columbus can also break through this year.

3. Chicago Blackhawks
Seems like most NHL observers are falling over themselves to anoint the Blackhawks as the NHL's next "it" team after getting to the WCF last year and adding Marian Hossa. Well, turns out Hossa was damaged goods and after All-American Boy Patrick Kane drunkenly punched out a cabbie in Buffalo things don't look so rosy for this crew. Brian Campbell might share that grave with Cheechoo and their goaltending situation is far from settled (or good). Sure, the Hawks will be a fine team. But let's not get too crazy here.

4. St. Louis Blues
I've got the Blues barely making it in the playoffs this year, continuing the good karma from last year's massive mid-season turnaround. Chris Mason came out of the doldrums to establish himself as a #1 goalie, but my man Ty Conklin is right behind should Mason not be up to the task. St. Louis dealt with a ton of injuries last year, so having Paul Kariya and Andy MacDonald fully healthy should make a huge difference this year. It's going to be a tough division race, as you can tell.

5. Nashville Predators
I'd think Nashville would make the playoffs, even in the tough Western Conference, if they were in another division. Pekka Rinne crushed Dan Ellis' soul last year and stole away the starting goaltender job and did not look back. Shea Weber is the most dynamic player on their roster, and it'd be interesting to see what kind of return he could yield on the trade market.

Northwest Division
1. Vancouver Canucks
Expectations will be running high in Vancouver this year after an offseason of high activity. The Canucks retained the services of the Sedins, gave Roberto Luongo a mega-extension, added Mikael Samuelsson for scoring depth and shored up the blue line with Christian Ehrhoff and Mathieu Schneider. With continued growth in production for the likes of Alex Burrows, Ryan Kesler, Kevin Bieksa and Willie Mitchell, this team can reasonably be expected to be a real Western Conference player until the end.

2. Calgary Flames
Jarome Iginla's crew crashed and burned late last season, losing the division race to the Canucks and getting blown out in the first round by Chicago. Mike Keenan was shown the door, and homeboy Brent Sutter took his place. They added Bouwmeester, who along with Dion Phaneuf should wreak havoc on the power play. Olli Jokinen will try to get on the same page as Iginla, something that did not happen last year. Some other forwards will have to step up in place of Michael Cammalleri.

3. Edmonton Oilers
It'll be a fresh start for Edmonton, who hired veteran bench boss Pat Quinn to reform a team that totally lost its way last year. The Oilers were all set to trade Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner and Ladislav Smid to Ottawa for Dany Heatley, but it literally took months for Heatley to finally say no and it pretty much screwed any other offseason plans they may have had. If being dangled as a trade chip doesn't finally motivate Penner, nothing will. The Oilers should benefit from adding Nikolai Khabibulin between the pipes.

4. Minnesota Wild
The Wild will also get a fresh start with a new GM and coach committed to move off the trapping style of longtime coach Lemaire. They replaced the brittle Gaborik with the similarly brittle Martin Havlat. Marty will probably team up with Mikko Koivu and when healthy should be a force to be reckoned with. Niklas Backstrom will be in net for the foreseeable future, but the change away from a defensive system might affect his final statistics this season.

5. Colorado Avalanche
It sucks to see the Avs suck. They've never sucked in their history, but now, they suck. At least they didn't hire Patrick Roy to be their head coach, that would have sucked. Their degree of suckitude will be lessened with a fully healthy Paul Stastny and the emergence of #3 overall pick Matt Duchene. But don't kid yourself, the Avs will suck again. And maybe for a while.

Pacific Division
1. San Jose Sharks
Once again, the Sharks will be the #1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and win the President's Trophy. But once again, they won't win the Stanley Cup, or even get close to it. Until they break up this team, they never will. It doesn't matter that they've added Heatley, or that Evgeni Nabokov will be playing for a contract. Failure after failure, it doesn't seem like this team or its management gets it. Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Nabokov have the stink of fail all over them. No number of tomato paste baths will remove it.

2. Anaheim Ducks
They've rid themselves of Pronger, which is a good thing. But losing Francois Beauchemin leaves the Ducks pretty thin on the blue line, and they'll need James Wisniewski to play like he did in the postseason. Saku Koivu joins his countryman Teemu Selanne for one last run to the Cup, and new addition Joffrey Lupul will look to make an impact early. The goalie fight is one of the preseason's most intriguing storylines, with Jonas Hiller having the upper hand over proven vet and franchise icon J.S. Giguere.

3. Dallas Stars
So which Marty Turco shows up this year? The dominant force that led Dallas to the WCF in '08 or the horrible facsimile that sucked beyond comprehension for most of last year? If the former shows up, the Stars should contend for a playoff berth all year. If not, they have no chance, because they don't have anyone else on the club that can carry them. The Stars dealt with injuries and Sean Avery last year, but Mike Madano is ancient and I wouldn't trust anyone else to lead them to the promise land.

4. Los Angeles Kings
Beware the Kings. They have an excellent core with Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown and Justin Williams, and added the veteran presence of Ryan Smyth this summer. Jon Quick has potential to be a franchise goalie, and Rob Scuderi came over from the Penguins to provide depth on the blue line. While I still think they're about a year away from the playoffs, they could create a ruckus and mess up some team's chances, especially down the stretch. If you're not going to the playoffs, why not create a ruckus?

5. Phoenix Coyotes
To call what's going on with the Coyotes a "mess" wouldn't do it justice. The bankrupt franchise is in the process of being sold, with lots of lawyers and courts and businessmen and other crap involved. How it will affect the play on the ice, and attendance at home games, will be a major point of interest. News has just broken that Wayne Gretzky is out, which can only be a good thing. Shane Doan is the only player worth a crap on this team, and I feel pretty bad for him. He deserves a lot better.

Let's wrap up this preview with some useless playoff predictions. Here goes:

Eastern Conference
(1) Bruins beat (8) Rangers
(2) Penguins beat (7) Sabres
(3) Capitals beat (6) Devils
(4) Flyers beat (5) Hurricanes

(1) Bruins beat (4) Flyers
(3) Capitals beat (2) Penguins

(1) Bruins beat (3) Capitals

Western Conference
(1) Sharks beat (8) Blues
(2) Red Wings beat (7) Ducks
(3) Canucks beat (6) Blackhawks
(4) Flames beat (5) Blue Jackets

(4) Flames beat (1) Sharks
(2) Red Wings beat (3) Canucks

(2) Red Wings beat (4) Flames

Stanely Cup Final:
Bruins beat Red Wings in 7 games

I'm sure I've jinxed everyone in this process. Come back soon for my B's preview.

Farewell, Phil

2009-09-20T16:19:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I talked about how the Bruins' situation with Phil Kessel was nearing a conclusion. That conclusion came Friday night, when Kessel was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs for first- and second-round picks in 2010 and a first-rounder in 2011. While the return wasn't shocking, the new contract given to the restricted free agent was: five years, $27 million, and a $5.4 million annual cap hit for the 21-year-old American sniper set to play out the prime of his career in Canada's hockey hotbed.

On a visceral level, the trade itself wasn't surprising; trade talks involving Kessel had been rumored ever since Scott Walker broke our hearts in May. The return is solid and the contract he received is cartoonish, with a cap hit the Bruins would not have touched. I'm happy all sides involved are satisfied, as the B's have eliminated a huge distraction and now have five early 2010 picks to move around next spring. We live in a salary cap era, and Kessel is a casualty. The Bruins truly did the best they could under the circumstances.

But, more than anything, my negative feelings towards this trade were of sadness. I heard so many awesome things about Kessel when he was drafted, that he'd be the sniper the Bruins so lacked since Cam Neely's heyday. The excitement he brought to the ice as a young star was part of my re-attraction to this team. My first B's shirt in years had his name and number on it.

So seeing him go to a division rival was hard, because I couldn't stop thinking about what may have been. This could have worked. At least that's what I want to believe.

The B's reportedly offered Kessel something similar to the four-year, $16 million Jordan Staal signed with the Penguins last year. They probably did not want to offer him more than the $3.75 million average David Krejci signed for, but it was closer to what Florida gave David Booth ($4.25 million average), an older player with a similar skill set.

Kessel wasn't interested. He wanted to be paid like the star he isn't yet. Kessel and his agent, Wade Arnott, were not willing to budge. Peter Chiarelli stuck to his guns in terms of Kessel's value to the Bruins. For that reason, I'm proud of the Bruins for not giving in.

But they could have offered Kessel something closer to his asking price if they'd been able to make one move: trade away 31-year-old winger Marco Sturm and his $3.5 million salary to a team in need of some veteran scoring. I'm not sure about you, but I'd rather have a 21-year-old potentially-elite scorer and hope he'd mature into a positive room presence than a guy 10 years older coming off major knee surgery.

But when Sturm was signed to a multi-year extension in February of 2007, Chiarelli awarded him no-trade protection for reasons beyond comprehension. With rumors raging this summer, Sturm made it very clear he would not waive his NTC. It's not known if Sturm was ever asked to waive his NTC, but apparently it didn't matter.

After improving their defense with Derek Morris and taking care of Matt Hunwick and Byron Bitz, there was $1.7 million remaining under the cap, and they weren't moving anyone else for fear of losing significant production or an important chemistry element. Without Strum's NTC, Kessel could have stayed for something close to $5 million a year. It could have worked.

The other part of his has to do with Kessel himself. Much has been made in recent days about Kessel's problems with Claude Julien and some teammates. But at nearly 22, Kessel could have overcome those problems, and in relatively short order. I refuse to believe his problems with Julien were so bad that they couldn't possibly co-exist.

Did Kessel really want out of Boston that bad? Why would he want to leave a team on the rise, with excellent players, and a burgeoning fanbase the certainly didn't dislike him? I wonder if his desire to leave has been overblown. If it's not, then I'd rather the B's have skaters that want to be there than not. We may never know for sure. I just have a hard time believing things couldn't have changed. It could have worked.

But it didn't. And maybe it's just in my mind that it could have. What I do know is the NHL must address restricted free agency in the next CBA. In a league with such a tight cap, where signing big UFAs is just as vital as bringing along young draftees, the salary structure is completely screwed up when the Bruins cannot afford to keep Kessel because he can command such an exorbitant salary. Just wait until you see what the Blackhawks will have to deal with next summer.

Kessel's $5.4 million cap hit next year will be equal to or greater than the likes of forwards Rick Nash, Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Johan Franzen, Marian Hossa, Simon Gagne, Martin Havlat, Shane Doan, Olli Jokinen, Daniel Alfredsson, Martin St. Louis, Jason Pominville, Brian Rolston, and the man that fed Kessel the puck all last year, Marc Savard (FYI: All these players will be UFAs at the end of their current deals). That's quite a list, and should tell you something about the state of affairs in the NHL right now. Kessel's one-dimensional play means he shouldn't be in the same class as most of these guys, but the economics of the league allow him to make more than most of them.

It's not right that Kessel can get away from the team that drafted him with less than three years of total NHL experience and get a raise from $850,000 to $5.4 million from a team desperately in need of scoring. The NHL must change this if teams reliant on young talent want to keep their best players.

But for now, this is the reality. Whether or not the Phil Kessel trade will work out for the Bruins won't be known for years. The 2009-2010 Bruins will still contend for the Stanley Cup, and his 36 goals will be replace by the presence of Sturm and Mark Recchi and the continued growth and development of Milan Lucic and Blake Wheeler.

That question of what might have been will long linger with the name Kessel in Bruins' lore. In another time, this could have worked. Yet, it didn't. So we move on.

Hockey Inches Closer

2009-09-17T09:25:00.000-07:00

It's been almost two months since my epic Crosby/Malkin/Ovechkin post that, thanks to Cam, was linked to by Puck Daddy and garnered the most exposure ever to something I've blogged. I appreciate all the feedback and I hope you'll stick around. I haven't written much here because I haven't had much to say about the NHL since July. Summer is a time for baseball and other things that don't involve sitting around and writing.

But the NHL is back, and the B's already have two preseason wins in the books. Two weeks from today, the Bruins will begin their season with an epic match-up in Boston against the Capitals on (sort of) national TV. It's hard to believe it's already time for our favorite ice heroes and villains to lace 'em up for another great year. I'm excited to share my thoughts with you for a full season.

There's been quite a bit of activity recently, none bigger than Dany Heatley finally getting traded to the Sharks in exchange for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo's rotting, decomposing corpse and a second-round pick. Thus ended a long, arduous summer of back-and-forth between the player, the team and the media about where exactly Heatley wanted to go.

Heatley didn't exactly endear himself to either Ottawa or Edmonton when he refused a trade to the Oilers that probably would have netted the Senators more than what they got from the Sharks. Michalek is an up-and-comer, but Cheechoo is the deadest of dead weight. In fact, as I intimated above, he may actually be dead.

Regardless, the Sharks lost some depth but they couldn't pass up the opportunity to pair Heatley with Joe Thornton, and along with Devin Setoguchi, present one of the most fearsome first lines in the league. Does Heatley get them over the hump and eventually lead them to postseason success? Well, they still have Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Evgeni Nabokov, right? Then the answer is still "no."

There's also been plenty of Phil Kessel talk recently, and it appears the still-unsigned RFA has played his final game in a Bruins' uniform. The Maple Leafs want him, as do the Predators, Rangers, and some mystery teams out west, but there appears to be too much animosity between Kessel's camp and the Bruins' camp for him to appear in the Spoked B again.

I'll have much more to say on Kessel, and his soon-to-be former teammates, next week. I'm planning on doing a full-out Bruins preview early in the week, followed by a preview of the rest of the league later on. I'm not sure how I'm going to structure either of them, or how in-depth my preview of the rest of the league will be. I'll take the weekend to ponder it.

I'll leave you with the first fight video of the year, Byron Bitz taking on Jay Rosehill in last night's contest in Toronto. Sure, Bitzy got his ass beat, but I'm so pumped to see what he'll do in a full season as this team's workhorse fourth-line star. Enjoy. See you next week.

The NHL's Big 3: A blessing, or a headache?

2009-07-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

The National Hockey League should be in a position of rejoice. It is on the precipice of regaining a place amongst the major North American professional sports due in part to its three elite stars all aged 23 and under: Pittsburgh Penguins centermen Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and Washington Capitals left winger Alexander Ovechkin.

Having not one, not two, but three megastars to build around should be a huge boon for the NHL. Neither the NFL, NBA nor MLB can claim to have that many transcendent stars all at such young ages. The NHL has indeed taken advantage, especially with Crosby, the 21-year-old dynamo who's already hoisted the Stanley Cup along with his Conn Smyth-winning teammate Malkin.

There was another era where the league could boast more than one transcendent talent, and that was during the late '80s and early '90s with Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. Across the spectrum of the sport, amongst other players, fans and the media alike, Gretzky and Lemieux were respected, even loved. Their play and conduct left little to be desired, they made their teammates better and were true ambassadors of the game. Even though Gretzky was never all that gritty and Lemieux was always hurt, they were held in unanimously high regard throughout their careers.

This is where the NHL of 2009 has a problem. Despite the undeniably prolific skills of the three big current stars, there is some aspect of their personalities or their game that causes a significant portion of the hockey-watching populous to dislike them. This goes beyond the intense rivalry between Penguins and Capitals aficionados, extending to puckheads all over the world. When it comes to how casual fans might view these stars during this key period for the NHL, perception is a harrowing reality.

With these issues in mind, let's take a look at the pros and cons of these three men, and what their shortcomings mean for the game.

MALKIN

For Malkin, it's likely he'll never rise above second-banana or second-fiddle or second-whatever to the other two stars. He was second in the '04 draft to his countryman Ovechkin, and he's always going to be considered the Scottie to Crosby's Michael. But the numbers, and the consistency of his play, do not lie.

PROS: With all the adulation his more famous teammate receives, Malkin has been better than Crosby each of the last two regular seasons. Crosby spent much of '07-'08 injured, but Malkin was clearly the superior of the two in '08-'09. He won the Art Ross Trophy this past year by scoring a league-leading 113 points, 10 better than Crosby and three better than Ovechkin.

Malkin followed up with a dominating run through the Stanley Cup Playoffs, scoring 36 points and earning Conn Smyth honors. It's possible Malkin would have won the Conn Smyth even if with a Game 7 loss. His scoring touch during the playoffs is exemplified by this ridiculous goal completing a hat trick against Cam Ward and the hapless Hurricanes in ECF Game 2. It's no surprise Malkin won the accuracy contest at last year's Skills Competition.

The Russian is a gifted passer who's made his hay while playing with second-line wingers. His 78 helpers last year were a career-high, and at 22 he'll only improve in that category. Malkin's defense has also improved during his time in the league, and while he won't win a Selke anytime soon, he's no liability on the other end of the ice.

Playing with Malkin is definitely a good thing for Crosby. Being paired with another star alleviates the pressure that come along with being one. To a certain extent, Crosby being there has the same effect for Malkin.

CONS: Going back to my earlier point, Malkin's sidekick status is unfortunate because a very legitimate case can be made that Malkin is the best player in the game and was the best player last season over Crosby and Ovechkin. You can't say Scottie was ever a better player than Michael during their primes.

But there's another significant reason why Malkin won't be bigger than his teammate or his countryman: the dude can barely speak English.

When he first came to Pittsburgh three years ago, he spoke Russian and nothing else. But with the help of Sergei Gonchar and plenty of time in North American locker rooms, Malkin can at least carry a conversation and do a short, cliché-ridden interview from time to time. This kills any marketing or entertainment potential from Malkin's phenomenal production, aside from the occasional brush with unintentional comedy.

What stands out about a player is how they perform under pressure, and those situations have not exactly brought out the best in Malkin. He infamously disappeared during the '08 SCF, appearing jittery and scoring only three points in the series. His '09 Conn Smyth run notwithstanding, Malkin managed eight points in the '09 SCF but his reputation took a hit by taking stupid penalties in seemingly every game and instigating the bizarre fight with Henrik Zetterberg that ended Game 2.

I lost a lot of respect for Malkin during the Final. I can't be the only one.

OVECHKIN

I would pay more to see Ovechkin than any other non-Bruins player in the NHL. That should stand for something. Entertainment value is awfully important in a league that will take anything for positive headlines. But Ovechkin's the most flawed player of these three, and his style makes the purists cringe.

PROS: Hockey puts a special premium on goals and those who can pot them, and Ovechkin is the NHL's best goal-scorer by far. The winner of the last two Hart Trophies scored 65 goals in '07-'08 and 56 this past season for a rapidly-improving Capitals squad. He's never scored fewer than 46 goals in any of his four NHL seasons. Of course, it's not just that he scores goals. He scores them like this. And like this.

Oh yeah, and like this. Almost forgot about that one.

The words "exciting" and "electrifying" don't really do Ovechkin's game justice. He has the ability to change a game all by himself in a way no other player in the league possesses, including Malkin or Crosby. As evidenced in the goal against the Habs, his ice vision is terrific and his skating and cutting prowess are second to none in the NHL. Simply put, nobody in hockey is more fun to watch than Ovechkin.

"Fun" is also the best way to describe Ovechkin's playful personality. He doesn't take himself too seriously, as this commercial attests. Unlike Malkin, this Russian speaks English with confidence and Bond-villain clarity, lending himself a chance to grow as a mainstream sports star. His flair on the ice makes him unique in hockey, and attracts people from the outside to see what the fuss is about.

And when they see what Ovechkin can do with his stick and his skates, it tends to make a lasting impression.

CONS: However entertaining Ovechkin's on-ice antics might be, it can rub hockey observers the wrong way. Hockey prides itself on tradition and class, and charades like his "hot stick" celebration following his 50th goal last season are not always well-received.

You may have heard of this guy Don Cherry. He's the patriarch of the hockey curmudgeons, and sure, this particular rant was xenophobic and borderline racist. But people often take stock in what he says. When he blasted Ovechkin last spring for his actions, fans and media took notice. It started a stretch of anti-Ovechkin sentiments across the hockey world, where many of his shortcomings as a player were exposed.

At different points last year I heard Ovechkin's effort on the backcheck and defense called "lazy," "listless," even "non-existent." As the season wore on, some clamored for Malkin to be awarded the Hart over Ovechkin because of Malkin's more complete play. After watching Ovechkin a few times myself, it was hard to disagree.

He appears bored sometimes on the ice, and takes shifts off on both ends. When he does try, it usually comes in the form of taking runs at opposing players and leaving his feet to smash them against the boards. There's no doubt he's the most physical and bruising of these three stars. But he doesn't always do it in a clean way. There's a perception around the league that Ovechkin will pay for the dangerous way he plays, and it could come sooner than later after his hit on Gonchar in the playoffs.

When you couple these tendencies with the fact that Ovechkin has not established himself as a leader and shoots the puck like Kobe Bryant shoots the ball (hint: too much), it's clear he's got plenty of work to do, and minds to change, before he can be considered the league's seminal star. With stigmas like "he's not a leader," "he doesn't care on defense," and "he plays dirty," it's hard to accept Ovechkin as anything more than an elite scorer that goofs around. With his talent, that's not a good thing for the NHL.

CROSBY

The Kid. The Next One. The Golden Child. Overrated. The Best Player in the NHL. The Biggest Whiner in the NHL. A Little Bitch. The man pictured above has undoubtedly been called all of these things at one time or another (or just by me personally). Crosby has once-in-a-generation talents, a Stanley Cup ring, the league's commissioner in his hip pocket, and a level of recognition few players in his sport have ever achieved–all before reaching the age of 22. Yet some cannot stand the sight of his face. The league can survive the mixed perceptions of Malkin and Ovechkin, but not Crosby.

PROS: After scoring a mind-boggling 217 points in Midgets at 14, Crosby's stage was set. Soon Gretzky was saying Crosby was the one player who could break his records, and the Penguins struck gold after winning the post-lockout draft lottery. The Steel City had a new icon to follow in Lemieux's footsteps, and thus far he's not disappointed, winning a Hart Trophy in '07 and a Stanley Cup in '09.

Crosby possesses every on-ice skill needed in a great hockey player. He has an uncanny nose for the goal, and can make the highlight reel with the best of them. He has peerless ice vision, and makes his teammates better with a fantastic passing touch (he has a 2:1 assist to goal ratio for his career). His effort on the ice can never be questioned. He plays strong defense, and shows grit when necessary. Pound for pound, he's the best player in hockey with few contemporaries in today's game.

It's an understatement to say Crosby was a godsend for the NHL following the lockout from a PR perspective. Here's a young, handsome, sure-thing Canadian center with comparisons to Gretzky playing in a city with a penchant for creating recent hockey demi-gods. Should we be surprised that Gary Bettman fell in love with the guy? From Day 1, Crosby has been the focus of the NHL's public reclamation project. In many ways it's been great thing, as Crosby is a household name and even non-fans know who him. In many ways it's been a bad thing, and I'll get to that soon.

Now that he's got a ring at such a young age, Crosby has not just the hockey world but the sports world at his feet. He holds a tremendous amount of power both on and off the ice, and he still has lots of time to further his legacy. The league has drawn its lot with Crosby, and he should be the face of the NHL for years to come.

CONS: To so many fans, it doesn't matter that Crosby is an uber-talent. They loath him. They derisively call him "Cindy Crosby," wear t-shirts that express their ultimate feelings and create hilarious photo illustrations in his honor. Crosby's haters don't root for only Philadelphia or Washington. They extend to the furthest reaches the league's fanbase. I don't believe the biggest star in any other professional sport is as disliked as Crosby. For the NHL, this is a nightmare in the making.

Part of the backlash against Crosby is the backlash against him being shoved in the faces of average fans. Some feel he was given too much an unworthy age. To be fair, this isn't really Crosby's fault. He didn't ask for this level of attention, it was pretty much thrust upon him because of his talent. In the end, however, that doesn't matter. It's Crosby himself that's everywhere, and he's the target.

I personally don't think Crosby is soft. But on the ice, he's mastered the art of complaining, and his peers agree. In a survey last season, Crosby was voted by his fellow players as the whiniest player in the league. Is it because he feels entitled to every call? Is it because he believes that's you show leadership? Or is it a case of immaturity that will dissipate with age, as his defenders claim? I'm not sure. But it's no good for both Crosby, and the league, if the biggest star is perceived to be the biggest whiner. Perception is reality, and that reality has trickled down to the fans.

There are so many more issues surrounding Crosby and his image (like how Malkin supporters belittle Crosby by asking, "How can the best player in the league not even be the best player on his own team?") that talking about them all would take up too much space. But his leadership skills, or lack thereof, are an omnipotent piece of discussion.

One questions the wisdom of a hockey team that names a then-19-year-old captain. He wasn't ready then, and based on his conduct and performance in big spots over the last few years, he's still not ready. The trials and tribulations of the '08-'09 season provided the truest test of Crosby's leadership. This might sound shocking, given that Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup and all, but Crosby failed that test more than once.

Everyone forgets this now, but the Penguins were mediocre through much of the regular season despite elite performances by Crosby and Malkin. It wasn't like the Penguins didn't have talent outside those two guys. They were lousy and were in significant danger of not even making the playoffs near mid-season. I remember watching the Bruins beat them up during this time and wondering what the hell was wrong. Then three things happened: Dan Bylsma was named head coach, Ryan Whitney was dealt for Chris Kunitz, and Billy Guerin came over at the deadline.

From there, the Penguins took off. This was not because of anything Crosby did. He played the same before and after these moves. The Penguins were better because of the new guys, not because of Crosby.

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, while Malkin was setting the world on fire, Crosby was inconsistent. He was phenomenal against both Washington and Carolina, scoring 20 points in those 11 games. But in the Final against Detroit, he was a complete non-factor. Outside of a goal and an assist in Game 4, Crosby scored one other time in seven games. Henrik Zetterberg shut him down to the point that I began worrying for his personal safety.

Allow me to repeat myself, in caps this time: Crosby was a COMPLETE NON-FACTOR in the Final. Was Gretzky ever a non-factor when he was winning all those Cups? Or Lemieux, or Orr, or Howe, or Richard in all their Cup runs?

Fair or not, the image so many will take away from the Final is Crosby accepting the Cup and lifting it over his head, as if he actually had something to do with winning the series. The real leader of the Penguins through their Cup run was Guerin, a veteran with league-wide respect and one Cup already under his belt. The "C" on Crosby's chest was a formality. Then came the highly-publicized handshake line incident where Crosby failed to greet opposing captain Nick Lidstrom. I don't think Crosby went out of his way to not shake Lidstrom's hand, but this wasn't a good thing for Crosby's already-tenuous reputation as a leader.

There's still plenty of time for Crosby to outgrow the perception (or reality) that he's a crybaby non-leader. But he's been in the league four years now. If he doesn't start getting it soon, he'll lose an even greater portion of the hockey-caring populous. At that point, this little image problem will become one of the biggest issues facing the NHL.

* * * *

Who could the NHL turn to as its saving grace, with these three megastars carrying more baggage than European tourists? The most complete player in the NHL, including leadership, intangibles and the like, is Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk. But like Malkin, his grasp of English is incomplete despite moments of incredible hilarity, and with Detroit it's never about one guy. He'll never put up numbers like Crosby or Ovechkin because there's too many other guys that share the wealth.

Two young stars, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, play for a great market in Chicago. Kane, the All-American boy, is the prime target for superstardom. But neither are prolific scorers, and won't be with Marian Hossa signed up for the next 12 years.

In my mind, the perfect candidate to breakout as a transcendent star is Columbus' Rick Nash. He's 25, a solid all-around player, a good leader and by all accounts a terrific guy. The Blue Jackets are improving, and he's signed for a long time, but the team will need to get much better for him to enter the discussion with these other three stars.

So, is it true that the embarrasment of riches for the NHL is nothing more than an embarrasment? Not right now. But unless Crosby, Malkin and Ovechkin round out their games and public personas, they'll never acquire a stature commensurate with their talents. Thankfully for the NHL, time is a friend for everyone involved.

Recchi returns, Huds flees, and Sakic says goodbye

2009-07-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't checked in during the past week, but I have some thoughts on a few matters that have surfaced recently. Here we go...

* On July 2, the Bruins re-signed 41-year-old scoring winger Mark Recchi to a one year, $1MM contract. Upon signing, he indicated that '09-'10 will be his final year in the league. According to the Globe: "I'm playing for one more ring. That's the most important thing to me," said Recchi. "The reason I like Boston is that 99 percent of the guys on that team, I felt, really want to win the Cup. It's the most important thing to everybody in that dressing room." That's got to be music to the ears of all Bruins fans.

I always respected Recchi, despite his status as a member of the late-'90s, early-'00s Flyers that completely owned the Bruins. Needing some toughness and leadership at the deadline, Peter Chiarelli shipped out a couple young guys to bring in Recchi. The results were terrific, with Recchi scoring 10 goals with 16 points in 18 games with the Black and Gold. He really clicked with Patrice Bergeron and Chuck Kobasew, and their persistent play lead to goals like this OT game-winner against the dirty Habs near season's end. Recchi then proceeded to play the entire Carolina series despite constant pain as a result of (gulp) kidney stones that required (shudder) surgery after Game Six (nearly faint).

From a chemistry and desire standpoint, bringing back Recchi was a terrific move. Unfortunately, the move didn't address the B's needs on defense or ease their cap crunch in any way. As it stands right now, the B's have slightly less than $3MM to spend on their two remaining restricted free agents, PhilKessel and Matt Hunwick. That's not even close to enough to sign both. Hunwick was one of 20 RFAs to file for arbitration, and I'm pretty confident he'll wind up signing for around $1MM per season on a two or three year deal. It's easy to forget that Hunwick, who was a healthy scratch most of the time after Steve Montador arrived, had six goals and 21 assists and was +15 in 53 games last year. I expect a big year, and plenty of time on the power play, for Hunwick in '09-'10.

As we've discussed here, it's going to take some interesting maneuvering for the Bruins to keep Kessel. If I had to guess, the B's would really like to trade Marco Sturm, but his $3.5MM cap hit for next year, no-trade clause and injury history make that pretty unlikely. More realistic would be Kobasew at $2.33MM moving. I wouldn't like to see that given how important Kobasew is to the identity of this Bruins team, and if the Penguins taught us anything it's that unheralded grinders often make a bigger difference come spring than the scorers (Kobasew came within one win of skating with the Cup in '04 with Calgary).

It's not going to be an easy summer for teams looking to dump salary because the cap is likely to drop significantly following this season. But something has to give here. There's still plenty of time to figure all this out.

* In my RFA preview, I said that if the Detroit Red Wings lost Marian Hossa to free agency, GM Ken Holland would do whatever it took to keep 25-year-old winger Jiri Hudler from leaving Hockeytown. I didn't count on a KHL team swooping in and signing him for two years and $5MM per, tax free. My first reaction: can I get in on this KHL thing, somehow? My next reaction: I can't really blame the guy.

The Wings never seemed to make bringing Hudler back a huge priority. When he was an RFA last year, Valteri "Val Filly" Filppula was given a five-year deal with an annual cap hit of $3MM. Hudler and Val Filly are the same age, but the Wings are running up against the cap, and the best they could do was between $2.5-$3MM for Hudler this year. So when the Czech was offered a boatload of rubles, how could he say no? He'll be a star on his team and be closer to his homeland. There would have been no guarantee with the Wings that he'd even be a top-six forward.

So any team that loses the likes of Hudler, Hossa, Ty Conklin, Tomas Kopecky and Mikael Samuelsson (gone to Vancouver where he'll join his fellow Swedes, the Sedins, on the Canucks' top line) all in the course of the week should panic, right? Amazingly, no, if you're the Red Wings. Any team with Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Nick Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski and Chris Osgood between the pipes is going to be no worse that top-three in the Western Conference next year.

I'm seriously worried about the KHL poaching European guys from the NHL over the course of the next few years. Why even bother coming over here if you can make that much close to home? But at least Don Cherry will be happy.

* Joe Sakic, a 20-year NHL susperstar who helped define the hockey of my youth, officially retired on Thursday. I was somewhat surprised by the announcement considering that his final season was the worst in Colorado Avalanche history and he was limited to only 15 games last year because of surgeries on his back and later his fingers because of a freak snow blower accident. But it's easy to understand why Sakic felt this was the time to step away. The Avs are in full-on rebuilding mode, as evidenced by the dumping of Ryan Smyth to the Kings. Sakic probably didn't want to be part of that.

There are few athletes left with Sakic's sense of loyalty, having played for the Quebec/Colorado franchise his entire career (although he did sign an offer sheet with the Rangers in 1997). He was a classy leader with a wrist shot from God. I was always indifferent about those amazing late-'90s Avs teams because they had so many disliked players (namely Claude Lemieux and Patrick Roy) but it was impossible to deny the talent of their two best and most dangerous players, Sakic and Peter Forsberg. You just always knew that Sakic was a great guy, a tremendous leader that never allowed egos to get in the way of winning.

His class was exemplified by the moment when, after winning the Cup in 2001, he immediately handed the holy challis to my one of my boyhood heroes, Raymond Bourque. Sakic didn't want any of the spotlight for himself, even though he certainly deserved it following his Hart Trophy campaign. More than any singular on ice moment, that's how I'll remember Joe Sakic.

It makes me feel older, watching guys who were in their prime when I was a kid retire. But that's part of life. I'm not sure we'll see the likes of Sakic ever again.

Recapping the Madness: Free Agency Day 1

2009-07-01T20:01:00.000-07:00

As always, Day 1 of the NHL free agent season was a dandy. Lots of signings, a few trades, plenty of surprises, great moves and head-scratchers alike. Just about every big-name UFA came to new contracts on Wednesday with only a couple still to be confirmed. Let's take a look at some of them:

* The biggest, most shocking move for the day came when Marian Hossa agreed to a whopping 12-year, $62.5MM deal with Chicago. There were plenty of teams in on Hossa, but the opportunity to sign with the young Blackhawks was something the dynamic Slovak did not feel he could pass up. His time with Detroit came to an end Tuesday when he rejected a 10-year pact with the Red Wings with an annual cap hit of around $4MM.

It's a little puzzling that Hossa wound up taking a little over $1 million more per year, however this deal with Chicago is heavily front-loaded in terms of actual money and we don't know how the Red Wings' offer was structured. But like I wrote before, it's hard to blame Hossa for taking more money since he left a fortune on the table last summer. And it's not like the Red Wings are crippled because of this. They still have some guys named Datsyuk and Zetterberg and Franzen, plus they can keep Jiri Hudler and allow their young talent to shine as a result.

As for the Hawks, this deal makes sense for '09-'10 but beyond that it's pretty iffy. Wunderkinds Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane and D-man Duncan Keith will be due for big raises, and they still have needs to address for this coming season. They are headed straight for salary cap hell this time next year. The Hossa deal also leaves Chicago with a goaltending tandem of Cristobal Huet and Corey Crawford because Nikolai Khabibulin fled for Edmonton on a four-year, $15 million deal on Wednesday. Not exactly stellar. They are putting their eggs in next year's basket, and time will tell if it pays off.

I was temporarily juiced by a Boston Globe report that Hossa's agent had been in contact with the Bruins this afternoon. Boston was in the mix for Hossa last summer before going to Detroit. It would have been a tight fit under the cap, and Phil Kessel's days in Boston would have been done, but man, would I have loved to see it. Of course, I also don't want my team to be cursed, so maybe it's not so bad that he's going to be in Chicago for the rest of his career.

Hossa wasn't the only ex-Wing the Blackhawks felt the need to pluck off the market. In one of the day's more comical moves, Chicago also signed Hossa's countryman Tomas Kopecky, a fourth-line winger Detroit had no interest in keeping. It reminded me of the Yankees' paranoia of scooping up as many ex-Red Sox as seemingly possible each winter, like when they signed Mike Myers, Mark Bellhorn and Alan Embree after already getting Johnny Damon. I wonder when the offer for Mikael Samuelsson is coming.

* The Sedin twins came to their senses and accepted identical five-year, $30.5MM contracts to stay in Vancouver. GM Mike Gillis made the ultimate gesture, flying out to Sweden to persuade the Sedins to accept the long-standing offer. The Canucks' desire to keep their commitment to the Sedins much shorter than the 12 years they were seeking speaks volumes about how some in the NHL view these long-term contracts. In this case it may have been due to the Sedins' limited bargaining power because of their nature as a packaged deal. But while a longer deal would have meant a smaller annual cap hit than $12.2MM, such a long contract is a huge risk for two guys whose successes are so closely tied to each other.

Let's say theoretically that Daniel Sedin blows out his knee during the '11-'12 campaign, has to miss significant time and is never the same player. Now, if he were signed to a 12-year deal, that'd be bad enough. But you have a player in Henrik Sedin who relies on his brother for production and will be just as emasculated offensively. Instead of one lousy deal long-term deal, you have two. It was too much of a risk, and I'm glad the Canucks didn't cave.

* Marian Gaborik, the oft-injured, soft-groined, brittle-hipped, scores-at-will-when-he's-actually-on-the-ice winger who'd played his entire career with Minnesota, took big bucks from the New York Rangers on a massive five-year, $37.5MM contract that will pay him $7.5MM a season. Initial reaction: Really?

GM Glen Sather did a wonderful job getting Scott Gomez and his awful contract out of town on Tuesday, and then he signs one of the most maddening players in the league to a contract with a nearly identical cap hit. I just don't understand how a guy who played in all of 17 games last year gets this kind of contract. That might sound like I'm contradicting myself from what I said about him in my UFA previews, but I didn't expect Gaborik to actually get a raise. But then I remember: How could we put this past the Rangers? Over the last decade they've made signing aging or injury-prone players an art form. Because of my feelings about the franchise, I hope this one blows up in their face just like Eric Lindros.

* So who do the Wild replace Gaborik with? Why, Martin Havlat, of course! There must be something about Minnesota that attracts fragile dynamic scorers. Even the new GM and head coach are getting into the act.

It seemed all along like Havlat would stay in Chicago, and I constantly heard about him being limited to a one or two-year deal with the Blackhawks. Wonder if we'll find out soon why the Hawks changed gears and elected to give Hossa a massive contract while leaving Havlat in the dust. Either way, late Wednesday Havlat came to a six-year, $30MM agreement with the Wild. At the same time, reports are surfacing that Minnesota is attempting to bring Saku Koivu into the fold to play with his brother, Mikko.

I've got plenty on Saku's former team, the Canadiens, coming up soon. It's going to be fucking beautiful.

* My favorite signing of the day came when the Washington Capitals signed one of my all-time favorite players, Mike Knuble, to a two-year contract paying him $2.8MM per season. Knuble, who played on many excellent Bruins' teams while I was growing up, is one of the few "sure-things" in the NHL. You're going to get 25+ goals, a gritty winger who isn't afraid to mix it up in the corners, and a guy everyone in the dressing room will love and know they can rely on. Getting to play with the likes of Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin will do wonders and probably up his assist total as well. Not only that, but they poached him away from the Flyers, and their answer was signing bruiser Ian Laperriere for three years. Not so good.

* Some quick hits before I get to the Bruins' quiet day and my Habs finale...After selecting future All-Star Viktor Hedman second overall in last weekend's draft, the Lightning shored up their defense significantly by signing fellow Swede Mattais Ohlund and veteran Blackhawk Matt Walker. Maybe they won't suck back there so much as a result...I was sad to see Mike Komisarik and his overall douche-ness leave the Canadiens, but at least he stayed in the division by joining Brian Burke's Leafs. Yeah, he'll still get the shit kicked out of him by Milan Lucic just as much, but it just won't be the same...Some of the goalie moves, besides 'Bulin to Edmonton as I mentioned, includes: Craig Anderson took a deal to split time with Peter Budaj in Colorado, with Scott Clemmensen replacing him in Florida; my UNH man Ty Conklin got a nice $2.6MM payday to provide insurance behind Chris Mason in St. Louis; Dwayne Roloson wanted two years, but the Oilers said no, and he went to the Islanders on a two-year deal. Man, that Rick DiPietro contract just looks better and better everyday...Donald Brashear signed with the Rangers, giving an already hateable team so much more hateability.

As for the B's, their limited cap space led to a day of limited action. Two checking line moves were made, as RFA Byron Bitz was signed to a multi-year extension and UFA center Peter Begin was signed for $850K to supplant Stephane Yelle. Begin, a former Hab who broke a bone in Marc Savard's back after a vicious '08 crosscheck, is an agitator and I feel the B's need more of that.

It sounds like the Kessel-for-Kaberle stuff is dead after the Leafs traded Pavel Kubina and signed Komi-suckass. But if the right deal comes along and a team is willing to trade a puck-moving defensemen, I'm sure the B's will listen. Otherwise, they need to look into signing Matt Hunwick and figuring out how to get rid of Marco Sturm without actually dumping his corpse into the Charles River.

I've saved the best for last. Here is my take on the day in the life of the Montreal Canadiens and their star-crossed general manager Bob Gainey:

What a big, gigantic mountain of FAIL. Note to everyone: if you have $35MM in cap space, never, ever, EVER let someone named "Bob Gainey" control it.

As I mentioned Tuesday night, the Canadiens took on the Rangers' salary dump of Gomez and gave up promising defensemen Ryan McDonagh in the process. Definitely a bone-headed move, since this isn't 2002 and Gomez pretty much sucks now. OK, they still had more than $25MM to spend going into actual free agency. They were in on the Sedins, Gaborik, Hossa, Havalt, not to mention their own guys like Komi-ballsack, Koivu, Alex Tanguay and Alex Kovalev amongst others. They got a mulligan on Gomez. As long as they started putting the right guys around him, they'd be fine...right?

Wrong. No. Bad. FAIL.

The Sedins stayed in Vancouver. I think the Bruins were talking to Hossa just to get in Gainey's head, and maybe it worked. It didn't matter anyway, because Hossa signed with Chicago. Ohlund went to Tampa, and talks with Komi-shithead broke down. Then Gainey unleashed his first salvo of the day by signing washed-up D-man Jaroslav Spacek (who is 35 and was never that great to begin with) to a three-year deal worth $11.5MM. Awesome.

But that wasn't it. A couple hours later, I was given an early Christmas present. Gainey pleased me to no end by signing Hal Gill away from the Penguins for two years and $4.5MM.

Hal Gill. On the Canadiens. The same Hal Gill who never did anything for the Bruins and whose immobility earned him the nickname "The Tree" during my SCF live-Twitter outings.

Hal. Gill. On. The. Habs.

How can I ever say the words "Canadiens defensemen Hal Gill" without breaking into uncontrollable laughter? Can it be possible that I get to make jokes at the Tree's expense even more this year? Is it true that I'm going to get the chance to see Gill fall over and crack the Bell Centre ice when Zdeno Chara takes a figurative chainsaw to his trunk?

Thank you, Bob Gainey. Your incompetence is finding new ways to make me giddy.

In fairness, Gainey did make one solid move today, but even that's up for some question. He inked Michael Cammalleri to a five-year, $30MM deal and he's now the only obvious scorer on the Canadiens' roster. It remains to be seen if Cammalleri can produce at his '08-'09 level without Jarome Iginla at his side. If he has to play with Gomez, I'm not liking his chances, and $6MM a year might not look so good. Still, he's a young scorer with some upside.

But Gainey had to even that out by doing something dumb. It's not that Brian Gionta, a career Devil, is a bad player. He's just not great, and not worth a five-year, $25MM contract. In '05-'06, Gionta scored 48 goals with 89 points in a year that has since proved to be a total fluke. He's 5', 7" and isn't likely to get better or taller anytime soon. Is reuniting him Gomez going to make him better?

No. Wrong. Bad. FAIL.

Now Gainey has around $10MM to spend, with his captain (Koivu) probably headed to Minnesota and his best player from last year (Kovalev) likely off to Los Angeles. He has four RFA forwards to deal with and probably needs another D-man for depth. I can't see how anyone can look at what he did on Wednesday and say he did well, considering the cavalcade of dough he was sitting on.

I can only draw one conclusion: Bob Gainey wants to get fired. How he didn't get fired after the debacle of the centennial season is anyone's guess. Whomever takes over as his successor is probably going to hate their life because of the moves Gainey has made this week.

The Canadiens are going to suck again, and for a long time. Thank you, Bob Gainey, for making my experience as a Bruins fan so much sweeter because of your incredible degree of suckitude.

See you tomorrow.

Top 5 RFA's; Countdown to Free Agency

2009-06-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

With less than 24 hours to go until the official start of NHL free agency, let's wrap up our look at the cream of 2009's crop with the top five restricted free agents, regardless of position. Any team can sign these players to an offer sheet starting tomorrow, but have to be willing to yield draft picks should their current clubs not match those offers. Here we go:

5. G Kari Lehtonen - Atlanta - 2009 stats: 46 G, 19-22-3, .911 SV%, 3.06 GAA - 2009 salary: $3MM
I include Lehtonen on this list solely because he is the best RFA goalie this year, which should say something about the quality of netminders available this year. Playing for a lousy team, Lehtonen got the majority of starts this year for the Thrashers, but didn't really do much to establish himself as the #1 franchise goalie many would have expected from him at this point. He lost playing time to the likes of the immortal Ondrej Pavelec and the washed-up Johan Hedberg as the Thrashers missed the playoffs once again.

I don't have much doubt that Lehtonen will return to Atlanta this summer. There's not much of a market for goalies, and it's possible he's simply going to accept the Thrashers' qualifying offer. It's hard to believe any team would be willing to give up draft picks for Lehtonen's services. Still, he's only 25 and there could come a day when the Finnish goalie finally puts it together. The Thrashers aren't going anywhere, so why not see it through?

4. D James Wisniewski - Anaheim - 2009 stats: 48 GP, 3 G, 21 A, 24 PTS - 2009 salary: $900K
Wisniewski had played his entire career with Chicago before being traded at the deadline to Anaheim in the deal that sent Sami Pahlsson to the Blackhawks. The deal worked out for both teams as Pahlsson provided veteran leadership for a young Chicago team while Wisniewski played the best hockey of his life during the Ducks improbable playoff run. At 25, Wisniewski held his own against the big forwards for San Jose and Detroit and earned plenty of respect around the league as a top-four defensemen to be reckoned with.

Since I last wrote, the Ducks traded away Chris Pronger to the Flyers and Scott Niedermeyer announced his intention to play another season. Niedermeyer still needs to work out a deal with Anaheim, and the Ducks are likely to lose another defender, Francois Beauchemin, to free agency this week. So keeping Wisniewski around will be imperative for the Ducks and GM Bob Murray. Coming back in the Pronger deal was 19-year-old blueliner Luca Sbisa, and the hope is that Sbisa and Wisniewski will provide a young foundation for the Ducks to build on.

3. C Travis Zajac - New Jersey - 2009 stats: 82 GP, 20 G, 42 A, 62 PTS - 2009 salary: $984K
The first two seasons in the NHL for this former North Dakota star were nondescript, but he found some magic during his third. Centering a line with wingers Zach Parise and Jamie Langenbrunner, Zajac was the distributor for one of the most productive lines in the league in '08-'09, helping fellow Fighting Sioux alum Parise to a 45-goal season. GM Lou Lamoriello extended the 24-year-old center a qualifying offer, but I fully expect Zajac to see what's out there starting tomorrow.

The Devils would be crazy to let Zajac sign elsewhere. Keeping that line with Parise and Langenbrunner together is of vital importance for the club's offensive identity, especially if the rumors are true that Lamoriello will bring back former head coach Jacques Lemaire after getting ditched by Brent Sutter. Considering their youth, it's scary to think how good the tandem of Zajac and Parise can become.

2. LW Jiri Hudler - Detroit - 2009 stats: 82 GP, 23 G, 34 A, 57 PTS - 2009 salary: $1.15MM
This spry Czech is yet another testament to the incredible depth of the Red Wings and their organization. Hudler had the best year of his young career in '08-'09, potting 23 goals while playing mostly on the third line and making some significant hay during his time on the power play (22 of his 34 assists came on the man-advantage). He's also displayed quite a bit of toughness despite his size, as he's played almost every game during Detroit's last two seasons, both of which have included deep Cup runs. Unfortunately for Hudler and his team, he pretty much disappeared after the Anaheim series and found himself on the fourth line for much of the Final.

In a summer of tough decisions for GM/Magician Ken Holland, Hudler presents one of the most difficult for the cap-strapped hockey superpower. On one hand, Hudler is a 25-year-old scorer who is likely to only improve with more playing time. As a whole, the Wings are not a young team, and they could use a guy like him to provide that jump they may otherwise lack. It'd also be bad for the Wings to see Hudler develop into a 40-goal scorer somewhere else. On the other hand, it appears Holland wants to keep Marian Hossa, meaning the Wings will have absolutely no room to keep Hudler or UFA Mikael Samuelsson. Plus, based on what he saw in the postseason, Holland knows he can rely on young, cheap forwards like Ville Leino, Justin "Afrogator" Abdelkader and Darren "He Doesn't Sleep, He Waits" Helm and afford to let the more expensive guys go.

So if Hossa stays, I don't see how Hudler does, too. Another team can probably sign him for a relatively cheap figure and Holland won't be able to match. The Wings will take the draft picks and kiss Hudler goodbye. This all changes, of course, if Hossa signs elsewhere. In that case, they definitely can't allow Hudler to walk. And because they're the Red Wings, they won't.

1. RW Phil Kessel - Boston - 2009 stats: 70 GP, 36 G, 24 A, 60 PTS - 2009 salary: $2.2MM
The '08-'09 breakthrough for Kessel, the 21-year-old burner who dropped to 5th in the 2006 draft because of character issues and was diagnosed with testicular cancer later that year, was one of my favorite aspects of the Bruins' return to hockey relevancy. From the minute he was drafted, Kessel was bandied about as a franchise savior, someone with immense talent who would certainly realize it as long as he did some growing up. He beat cancer, and the growing process began. We saw flashes during his first two seasons, but like the other two forwards on this list, Kessel came alive in his third season.

Getting fed the puck by playmaker Marc Savard, Kessel came out blazing in '08 and for a time was on pace for a 50-goal season when he was striken by mono. He was expected to miss extended time, but came back quickly and with a hat trick in the final regular season game against the Islanders finished with 36 goals. Despite a debilitating shoulder injury that resulted in a torn labrum and rotator cuff, Kessel played brilliantly in the postseason, including two goals in Game 5 against Carolina. Surgery could keep Kessel from playing at the start of the season, but the sky appears to be the limit for him in terms of scoring ability. He was nearly dealt at the draft to Toronto for puck-moving All Star defender Tomas Kaberle, but a disagreement between Boston GM Peter Chiarelli and Leafs GM Brian Burke over draft picks nixed the deal.

I went over most of my feelings about Kessel in my Bruins offseason preview, and for the most part, they haven't changed. I want Kessel to stay, but only for what he deserves. He's a scorer who doesn't contribute anything on the ice in terms of toughness or ability on the defensive end. He does not deserve to be paid $5 million a season for that. Chiarelli needs to be willing to let Kessel go and collect the draft picks if another team deems him worth that much. Otherwise, I believe the Bruins will play the waiting game with Kessel. Eventually, he'll sign for at least one year at around $4 million. In the end, the B's just can't afford to let someone of his talent slip. I don't see the B's winning the Stanley Cup in 2010 without Kessel.

So that concludes our look at free agents heading into tomorrow. In the time since I began writing this blog, a major trade has gone down, with Scott Gomez heading to Montreal for Christopher Higgins in a deal involving four other players. If this trade is a sign for what direction the Canadiens' offseason is headed, I'm going to be pretty happy. One of the players going to New York is blueliner Ryan McDonagh, an excellent young prospect. It's pretty foolish to give up this guy in what is essentially a salary dump for the Rangers, as Gomez appears to be washed up and has a ridiculous cap hit of $8 million for the next two years. Good to see that Habs GM Bob Gainey is just as clueless as ever. It's now being heavily rumored that Dany Heatley should be on his way to Manhattan because of this trade.

There will be plenty of activity between now and the end of this week. Hold onto your wigs and keys. It's going to be a wild ride.

Top 5 2009 UFA Defensemen and Goalies

2009-06-24T17:19:00.000-07:00

Last time, we looked at the top five unrestricted free agent forwards that will be able to negotiate with any team starting July 1. Now, we'll take a gander at the top five UFA blueliners, and then the top five UFA goaltenders (which is a pretty lousy list, just to warn you). Without anything resembling ado:

5. Rob Blake - San Jose - 2009 stats: 73 GP, 10 G, 35 A, 45 PTS - 2009 salary: $5MM
The only reason why I have the veteran defender fifth on this list is because he'd almost assuredly going to be re-signing with San Jose. Blake's going to be 40 by the time next season ends, but he's been remarkably consistent even in his advanced years. He signed a one-year, $5 million contract last summer in an attempt to win another Stanley Cup with the veteran Sharks. Paired with another new acquisition, Dan Boyle, things didn't go as planned once the playoffs came around.

Blake is one of the sport's best leaders, and if Patrick Marleau is dealt it wouldn't shock me to see Blake leapfrog Joe Thornton and become captain. I expect Blake to sign for something similar to $5 million he earned last season, and will perhaps even do so in a two-year pact. That will probably do it for Blake's career once that contract runs out.

4. Jordan Leopold - Calgary - 2009 stats: 83 GP, 7 G, 17 A, 24 PTS - 2009 salary: $1.5MM
This former University of Minnesota standout and Hobey Baker winner ended this past season where his career began, helping round out a strong core of defensemen in Calgary. He'd spent most of the previous three seasons with Colorado, but as an impending free agent and the team going nowhere, Leopold was shipped out at the trading deadline for a couple young players and a second round pick. The Flames were defeated in the first round by Chicago, and Leopold didn't help himself this summer by playing relatively sloppy throughout.

Since his glory days in college, Leopold hasn't really ever lived up to expectations, mostly due to injuries. He'll definitely get a raise somewhere this summer, and while he probably wants to get paid like a #2 blueliner, odds are that won't happen. If the Flames lose Adrian Aucoin, they will certainly take a look and bringing Leopold back at a reasonable price. Otherwise, plenty of teams should be in on Leopold. He was fully healthy this year and his number may have been depressed from playing most of the year on such a lousy team.

3. Mike Komisarek - Montreal - 2009 stats: 66 GP, 2 G, 9 A, 11 PTS - 2009 salary: $1.7MM
I'm not going to lie. I really hate this guy. He's a shit-stirrer, he plays for an evil team, and he proved himself to be a little bitch over and over again last year. I hope he stays in Montreal so he can continue to take beatdowns like this and this at the hands of Milan Lucic, the former being a seminal moment in the Bruins' season of re-birth. Of course, he might retaliate like this, and that wouldn't be good, but that's what we've come to expect from Mike Komisarek in his career. I don't care that he played for Michigan. I really hate this guy.

That being said, at 27 he's probably going to be paid handsomely at some point this summer. When he doesn't go overboard, Komisarek can be an asset to any team. The Canadiens have all the cap space in the world this summer, and because they're looking at having absolutely no depth behind Andrei Markov, keeping Komisarek on board would probably be a wise choice. Or not, since he sucks. OK, I can show my bias on here once in a while, right?

2. Scott Niedermayer - Anaheim - 2009 stats: 82 GP, 14 G, 45 A, 59 PTS - 2009 salary: $6.75MM
It's definitely been a long, strange trip for Niedermayer. Drafted third overall 18 years ago, he won the Cup four times in a span of 12 seasons. He's been a hero, and he's been a villain. That legendary playoff beard has gained a salt-and-pepper hue as the years have dragged on. After winning the Cup with the Ducks in '07, he seemed ready to walk away, and missed nearly 30 games in '08 before finally coming back.

The Ducks were just about out of the playoffs at the deadline this year, with Niedermayer's name bandied about in potential trades. But Anaheim persevered, outlasted top-seeded San Jose in the opening round, then took Detroit to the brink before succumbing in Game 7. During the playoffs, it seemed like Niedermayer and Chris Pronger were on the ice 60 minutes a game.

Niedermayer proved throughout the season and playoffs that he can still play as an elite NHL defenseman. For a third straight year, however, he's contemplating retirement. His intentions should be known before the draft, and if he does decide to continue expect him to stay in Anaheim.

1. Jay Bouwmeester - Florida - 2009 stats: 82 GP, 15 G, 27 A, 42 PTS - 2009 salary: $4.875MM
This puck-moving, bruising 25-year-old Edmonton product might be the most sought-after free agent this summer after Marian Hossa. He's an elite #1 defenseman, a true treasure who's been buried deep in Florida for his entire career. Bouwmeester only settled for a one-year tender as a restricted free agent last year with an obvious desire to get the hell out of Miami as soon as possible.

Bone-headed GM Jacques Martin (who I'm happy to say is now the Habs' head coach) should have dealt him for something at the deadline, but refused. The Panthers missed the playoffs, and will now see him go for nothing unless they trade his rights before July 1. It came out on Tuesday that Bouwmeester "has made it known he wants to play somewhere hockey is taken more seriously than in South Florida." Ouch.

The team I've heard most in connection to J-Bouw so far is Philadelphia, who can afford to move some of their forward depth either as a means of acquiring his rights or clearing cap space to sign him (I imagine Bouwmeester will make close to $7 million annually in his new deal). The above report mentioned Joffrey Lupul as a potential chip, and don't count out UNH star James van Riemsdyk as a possibility too. Watching them against Pittsburgh in the playoffs, I felt the last piece they needed was a big defenseman. Kimmo Timonen is excellent, but adding Bouwmeester could catapult them into the top tier in the East.

The Canucks, Flames and his hometown Oilers will also come calling. Whatever team ends up with Bouwmeester will have an terrific young #1 defenseman as their anchor for years to come. I'm excited to see what Bouwmeester will do with a solid team around him.

Onto the top five UFA netminders:

5. Scott Clemmensen - New Jersey - 2009 stats: 40 G, 25-13-1, .917 SV%, 2.39 GAA - 2009 salary: $500K
Like a lot of people, I figured the Devils were pretty screwed when Martin Brodeur went down with a biceps injury that cost him most of the regular season. They looked even more screwed when backup Kevin Weekes struggled as his replacement. Enter Clemmensen, who helped BC win the 2001 national title but had only seen action in 28 NHL games prior to this season. Clemmensen played so well in Brodeur's absence that when the legendary goalie was slated to return there was some consternation in New Jersey about who should really start. The legend won out, and Clemmensen was actually sent back to the AHL before Weekes was injured.

Because of his performance this year, Clemmensen could potentially find a starting job, but at the very least he'll be a backup paid better than $500,000. If I'm GM Lou Lamoriello, I'll fork over a couple million to keep the guy around. Brodeur isn't getting younger (or thinner), and having some security backing up is important. But he may bolt for greener pastures. We shall see.

4. Ty Conklin - Detroit - 2009 stats: 40 G, 25-11-2, .909 SV%, 2.51 GAA - 2009 salary: $750K
Following Dominik Hasek's retirement and Chris Osgood's ascension as Detroit's #1 goalie during their '08 Cup run, GM Kenny Holland worked his magic and signed Pittsburgh's Ty Conklin with the intention of using him as a backup. Conklin, my fellow UNH alum, played very well while Marc-Andre Fleury was injured that season, and getting him for $750,000 seemed like a steal. Osgood was shaky through much of the regular season, to put it nicely. Conklin bailed out the Red Wings time and again, and only after spending 10 days away from the ice did Osgood finally find himself. Had the Wings come through in SCF Game 7, I believe Osgood would have been Conn Smythe, with good reason. Conklin only saw the ice during one period in the whole postseason, and that's just because Osgood got tired during a Detroit blowout.

Conklin wants to stay, but it doesn't appear the 33-year-old return to Hockeytown in '09. Longtime prospect Jimmy Howard is going to finally be given a look as Osgood's backup. A starting gig might not materialize for Conklin, but I believe he deserves it based on his play the last two seasons. Of course, we're both Wildcats, so maybe I'm biased. Here it comes again...

3. Dwayne Roloson - Edmonton - 2009 stats: 63 G, 28-24-9, .915 SV%, 2.77 GAA - 2009 salary: $3.666MM
So, let me get this straight: Roloson is 40, played a lot of games last year, wasn't really any good in '08-'09, and wants the Oilers to give him a multi-year deal? I'm not buying it. Sure, Roloson was pretty solid, especially down the stretch, for Edmonton. And I'm not really sure they can do much better with Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers as the only other option under contract for next year. I think Roloson stays, but only for one year. The Oilers want to make a splash in the free agent or trade market, so keeping their commitment to an aging goalie low is probably in their best interest.

2. Martin Biron - Philadelphia - 2009 stats: 55 G, 29-19-5, .915 SV%, 2.76 GAA - 2009 salary: $3.5MM
You know it's a lousy year for free agent goalies when the second-best netminder on the market gets passed over in favor of Ray Emery. How does that make you feel, Marty? Biron was always a favorite scapegoat for the fans in Philadelphia, and I never really felt that was fair. Sure, the guy was never spectacular, as his numbers this year attest. He kept losing playing time to Antero Nittymaki throughout the season, and it was a tough decision . But I just think it's obvious that Biron should not be expected to be a top goalie on a contending team at this point in his career.

At 31, Biron wants a multi-year contract, which is something the Flyers simply weren't interested in. I applaud them for going with the cost-cutting move in signing Emery, and it also sounds like they're trying to bring back Robert Esche from the KHL to team with up with Emery. It's a risk, but at least it will afford them the chance to go after a big name. Where Biron lands is anyone's guess, and there's no guarantee he'll be a starter.

1. Nikolai Khabibulin - Chicago - 2009 stats: 42 G, 25-8-7, .919 SV%, 2.33 GAA - 2009 salary: $6.75MM
This was definitely not a normal year in the crease for the Blackhawks. Last summer they signed free agent Cristobal Huet to a four-year deal with an average cap hit of $5.625MM, and I always figured that meant Huet would get the starting nod for '08-'09 over Khabibulin. That's why I drafted him in my fantasy league. Dennis Savard was fired early in the season, Joel Quennville came in as a replacement, and decided he liked Khabibulin more as the primary goalie. It was pretty maddening not knowing who was going to start everyday. Khabibulin was hurt for long stretches, but Huet never played well enough to take over the starting role. The "Bulin Wall" took over late in the season, and his steady veteran play led the young Hawks to the Western Conference Final.

Because Khabibulin led the Hawks late in the season, and Huet left a lot to be desired in his absence especially when pressed into playoff action, it would make sense for the Chicago to retain the Russian's services. However, he's 39, and had trouble staying healthy throughout the year. And they certainly can't afford to pay their goaltenders north of $12 million for another year. My guess is they let Khabibulin walk and go with Huet and youngster Corey Crawford. Khabibulin should be able to carve out a starting job somewhere.

So there you have it. Enjoy the draft and the flurry of activity that usually accompanies it.

Top 5 2009 Free Agent Forwards

2009-06-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

Before we take a look at the top unrestricted free agents available this summer, I first want to congratulate the Bruins who were recognized last week for their great 2008-2009 season. Tim Thomas won the Vezina Trophy in a walk and Claude Julien took the Jack Adams Award, but my favorite honor went to captain Zdeno Chara for winning the Norris Trophy.

He ended Nick Lidstrom's three-year stranglehold on the title of best defenseman in the league, and even though Lidstrom and Mike Green had strong claims, I believe the best man won. Chara was the anchor of the NHL's finest defense all year. It's a pleasure to watch him work and do things that only he can do because of his behemoth physicality. I look forward to Chara raising some more prestigious hardware next year, hopefully in the form of the Stanley Cup.

Puckin' Right now presents the notable 2009 summer free agents, starting with UFA forwards:

5. RW Martin Havlat - Chicago - 2009 stats: 81 GP, 29 G, 48 A, 77 PTS - 2009 salary: $6MM
This Czech dynamo picked no better year than this one to finally put together his first injury-free regular season. Havlat had never played more than 73 games in a year before this one, and he should be able to reap the benefits on the open market. He was excellent in the postseason before this completely legitimate hit by Nicklas Kronwall effectively ended his season despite a feeble attempt to play in the Blackhawks' series-losing Game 5 of the Western Conference Final.

There's no denying Havlat's incredible skill, especially when it comes to offense and speed. I believe that whenever he's on the ice he's usually the most talented and dangerous guy out there. The question with him has always been about health and a desire to be the best. Any team looking to sign him must ask whether this productive and healthy season came solely as a result of the contract that will await him in a few weeks. Havlat signed for three years when he came to Chicago, and is in line for something similar this summer at 28.

The Blackhawks have made re-signing Havlat their top summer priority, but they need to keep an eye towards 2010 when young meal tickets Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will be restricted free agents. I think Havlat will stay but only if it doesn't jeopardize their chances to keep their two young stars. Otherwise, there are plenty of teams that could take the chance on what Havlat has to offer.

4. C Mike Cammalleri - Calgary - 2009 stats: 81 GP, 39 G, 43 A, 82 PTS - 2009 salary: $3.35MM
Cammalleri, a University of Michigan product who played for the Manchester Monarchs after getting drafted, had spent his whole NHL career with the Los Angeles Kings before being traded to Calgary at last year's draft. Getting to play with the likes of Jarome Iginla paid massive dividends as Cammalleri established himself as an elite scorer in '08-'09. In the process, he made himself a ton of money, but the question remains where that money will come from.

Because he's only 27, Cammalleri should garner interest for many teams. It's not likely that he stays in Calgary since he's probably due to make around $6MM annually in his next deal, and they're facing some tough choices with defensemen Adrian Aucoin and Jordan Leopold also UFAs. Unless the Flames unload mid-season acqusition Olli Jokinen or someone else at next weekend's draft, Cammalleri will probably be changing addresses next season.

The Kings are going to be mentioned as a potential landing place for just about every major free agent or trade candidate this summer due to their preponderance of cap space, and a return engagement for Cammalleri in L.A. is not out of the question. Other teams I've heard in connection to Cammalleri include the Avs, Blue Jackets and Canadiens.

3. LW and C - Daniel and Henrik Sedin - Vancouver - 2009 stats: 164 GP, 53 G, 111 A, 164 PTS - 2009 salary: $7.15MM
No need to separate the Swedish Sedin twins for the purposes of this list. They are a package deal, as they have been since then-GM Brian Burke drafted them second and third for the Canucks in the 1999 draft. This isn't just because no team in their right mind would ever risk taking one without the other; it's clearly the best way for both to maximize their value. Good for a point per game each last year, anyone who signs the Sedins knows what they're getting: Daniel the sniper, Henrik the playmaker, excellence on the power play and incredibly awkward commericals. But these guys aren't going to come cheaply.

Reports surfaced last week that the Sedins are seeking identical 12-year, $63MM contracts from the Canucks during their exclusive negotiating period before July 1. No doubt the Sedins were influenced by the long contracts the Detroit Red Wings shelled out to their fellow countrymen Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg. While the Sedins have never led a team to a Stanley Cup like Franzen and Zetterberg, such contracts would count $5.25MM against the cap each year for each player. That's reasonable enough, but the question is whether Vancouver wants to commit that many years to two players.

How much the Sedins are really worth will be one of the major questions of this summer. I think they'll stay with the Canucks, but should no agreements be reached this week, their negotiating rights could be dealt at the draft. Lots of teams with the cap space and willingness to take a chance could be in on the twins come July 1.

2. RW Marian Gaborik - Minnesota - 2009 stats - 17 GP, 13 G, 10 A, 23 PTS - 2009 salary: $6.33 MM
Wild fans and fantasy owners alike were beyond frustrated with the season turned in by Gaborik, the Slovak winger who, when healthy, can score seemingly at will. There are plenty of similarities to this situation and the one facing Havlat. Like Havlat, he's never been able to escape his reputation as an injury-prone nuisance who causes more headaches than actually helping on the ice. Gaborik underwent hip surgery in January and returned for the final playoff push, but the Wild went home before the postseason began.

Now, the Wild have a new GM and a new coach, and they will look to open up a bit compared to longtime coach Jacques Lemaire's defensive style. That could be enough for Gaborik to return to the only NHL franchise he's ever played for, but the 27-year-old scorer will likely be looking elsewhere for employment this summer and beyond. Gaborik might benefit from going to a team where he doesn't have to be "the guy," even though he'll probably look to be paid like one.

Gaborik's upside is higher than Havlat's at this point, but I suspect teams will be unwilling to give Gaborik more than three years in a deal. It's possible he could earn less annually in his next deal than his last one. Teams know what type of risk they'd be taking by signing Gaborik, but the rewards could be monumental. If I were a GM, I'd take the chance. Gaborik is that special.

1. RW Marian Hossa - Detroit - 2009 stats - 74 GP, 40 G, 31 A, 71 PTS - 2009 salary: $7.45MM
There is no more compelling story in sports than the last 12 months of Marian Hossa's career. After nearly tipping in a game-tying goal in Game 6 of the 2008 SCF for Pittsburgh, Hossa spurned several huge offers as a free agent (including over $80 million from Edmonton and a solid contract from the Penguins) to take a one-year deal with Detroit. His reasoning? Hossa wanted to win the Cup, and felt his best chance was with the defending champions. Hossa went out and scored 40 goals, proving to be a force in just about every aspect of the game for the Red Wings. His team made it back to the SCF, with the city he left behind coincidentally occupying the opposing bench.

Hossa then proceeded to not show up for the Final. He registered three assists, never made much of an effort to cut or drive to the net, didn't provide anything on the forecheck or power play, and just looked plain terrible every time he was on this ice. All along I suspected Hossa was dealing with an undisclosed injury. It had to be. There was no way he was dogging it; this series is what he gave up tens of millions of dollars to be a part of. There was no way it was the pressure; he's an NHL superstar who'd been an excellent playoff performer through his career. But once the Final was over, and after watching his former team hoist the Cup, there was no admission of an injury. Hossa just sucked absent any logical explanation. It's one of the most bewildering things I've seen in my years following sports.

So will any of that affect what type of contract Hossa gets this summer? Not likely. He's still one of the most valuable players in the NHL, with the ability to change a game all by myself at both ends of the ice. There had been rumblings just before the Final that Hossa had agreed to a seven-year contract with the Red Wings, but that does not appear to be true. Despite his playoff putridity, I believe the Wings would take him back. I didn't think it was possible the Wings could keep all three of Zetterberg, Franzen and Hossa, but if they're willing to jettison the likes of Mikael Samuelsson and Jiri Hudler, they could complete that ridiculous troika by retaining Hossa.

While a Hossa return to Pittsburgh is about as likely as a Manny Ramirez return to Boston this winter, plenty of other teams could break the bank for the Slovak. I highly doubt he'll take a one-year pact like last offseason. I'm not saying Hossa made the wrong decision last summer, quite the contrary. But I can't blame the guy for wanting to make back that money he could have gotten in 2008. And he should get it.

Next up, Puckin' Right will look at the UFA defensemen and goalies, with the top RFA's coming later in the week.

Bruins Summer Plans; With or Without Kessel?

2009-06-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

A small budget, gut-wrenching decisions and some creative math are all likely to mark the summer for Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli. Chiarelli, who just earned a four-year extension for engineering a fantastic turnaround and putting the B's back on the Boston sports map, has all the key pieces returning for the club that went 53-19-10 and came within one goal of the Eastern Conference Finals this past season.

It's rounding out that roster that will present Chiarelli with problems, and one or two of those key pieces might have to be moved in order to accommodate that.

After the David Krejci deal, and the $850,000 they will be paying Tuukka Rask to be Tim Thomas' backup next season, that puts the Bruins at just around $52 million in commitments for '09-'10. If the salary cap stays the same, that will give the Bruins less than $5 million to work with going forward.

Someone is definitely getting traded, especially if Chiarelli makes resigning restricted free agent Phil Kessel his top priority going forward.

Let's take a look at guys currently under contract that I don't expect to see traded before the '09-'10 season begins:

Zdeno Chara ($7.5 million), Marc Savard ($5 million), Thomas ($5 million), Michael Ryder ($4 million), Dennis Wideman ($3.9375 million), Krejci ($3.75 million), Aaron Ward ($2.5 million), Andrew Ference ($1.4 million), Brad Stuart ($1.3 million), Milan Lucic ($850K), Rask ($850K) Vladimir Sobotka ($750K) and Shawn Thornton ($516K).

I suppose Savard or Ryder could both be the ones that get traded. Savard will be an unrestricted free agent in 2010, and perhaps clearing that $5 million and getting something in return would be beneficial. I don't see it, and my money is on one of the following guys under contract:

Patrice Bergeron ($4.75 million), Marco Sturm ($3.5 million), Blake Wheeler ($2.825 million) and Chuck Kobasew ($2.333 million).

In addition to Kessel, the B's also would like to come to agreements with RFAs Matt Hunwick and Byron Bitz, and of their UFAs, I only see P.J. Axelsson, Mark Recchi and Stephane Yelle as possibilities to return.

(FYI: The B's are also paying a $1.3833 million buyout to Glen Murray this year. Good to see the guy is still screwing the Bruins even when he's sitting at home).

On the topic of Kessel: the latest information shows the Bruins want the speedy winger that scored 36 goals last season back, but only at their price. Kessel's representatives want the Bruins to pay up, something to the tune of $5 million per season, which is something they simply won't do. I think the max they would pay Kessel would be $4 million, while I'm sure they'd rather pay him the $3.75 million they're giving to Krejci.

Make no mistake: I really want the Bruins to keep Kessel. As their leading goal-scorer and the only guy on the team with significant speed, he played a key role in the Bruins' success this past year and as a scorer I feel he's only going to improve. It's going to be near impossible to replace that kind of offensive production.

I worry, though, if he's ever going to develop into a complete player. Kessel seems allergic to playing defense and will likely never contribute to the penalty kill. I can't question his toughness (after all, the guy came back from testicular cancer and played through what must have been an excruciating shoulder injury through the playoffs), but just once I'd like to see that toughness come through on the ice.

If Kessel doesn't develop into a complete player, that's fine. He'll still have tremendous value as an offensive force with a deadly nose for the goal. But as KPD explained, Chiarelli and VP Cam Neely look for guys with grit and toughness on the ice in addition to that scoring touch (not unlike Neely himself; that's why the B's will break the bank next summer for Lucic). I expect a decision to come shortly on this, and we could see Kessel getting dealt at the upcoming draft or just before July 1. There have been rumblings about Kessel going to Colorado for the 3rd pick. The Avs need that pick, which could be franchise defenseman Victor Hedman, more than they need Kessel.

But let's assume the B's sign Kessel for $4 million. That would put them at just below the cap, and signing either Hunwick or Bitz would put them at just above it. So a trade is in order if they sign Kessel.

Of the candidates I mentioned above, the best-case scenario would be for Sturm to get traded for prospects to clear up that $3.5 million. Sturm was excellent in 19 games last year, registering 13 points and making stuff happen every time he was out there. But a severe knee injury and ACL surgery landed him on injured reserve. He should be healthy for next season, but it will be a tough sell for another team to take on that kind of salary from someone coming off that serious of an injury.

Should they unload Sturm, I expect Recchi to re-sign for around $1 million. I loved everything Recchi brought to the Bruins last year, and even though he's pretty slow in his old age, he's a born leader and still loves to camp in front of the opposing goal and tip the puck in the net. He wants to come back, and I want him back.

Bergeron, and his hefty price tag of $4.75 million, are also on the trading block. We saw flashes of the old Bergeron this year, even though he suffered his second serious concussion and was often playing on a line with offensively-challenged guys like Kobasew and Axelsson. Of course, Bergeron provided one of my favorite moments of the season when he laid an uncharacteristic beatdown on some Canadiens loser in the playoffs. With two superior centers in Savard and Krejci already on the roster, it might be time to sever the chord on Bergeron if it will help the team in other areas.

The cheaper guys like Wheeler and Kobasew could get dealt, especially with how useless Wheeler was down the stretch and getting benched in favor of Bitz during the playoffs. Wheeler has tons of skill but needs to use his size to his advantage, but until then he might be one of the many high draft picks that never live up to their potential. I don't want to see the B's deal Kobasew, a gritty winger who's a huge part of their team identity. There were several stretches of listless hockey for the Bruins during the second half, but Kobasew was one guy who never let up. My respect for him will never wane after learning he played the entire Carolina series with not one but two broken ribs.

So as you can see, there's a lot to consider here. At this time, the top priorities have to be getting Kessel, Bitz and Hunwick under contract before July 1, then filling out the roster in whatever way they see fit. It's unfortunate the B's probably won't be able to delve into the free agent market this summer and get after a big defenseman like Jay Bouwmeester or a scoring forward like Marian Hossa or Martin Havlat. I'm glad I'm not Chiarelli, but I'm confident he'll make the right moves to keep this current version of the Bruins chugging along in '09-'10.

Coming up next, Puckin' Right will take a look at the upcoming free agent class. This might have to wait until next week and I'm going to be pretty busy until then.

Welcome to Puckin' Right

2009-06-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking.

"Hey, you're that guy who writes about baseball and politics. Why are you starting a blog about hockey? And why are you doing it right after the end of the Stanley Cup Finals?"

I'm glad you asked. OK, maybe you didn't actually ask this, or even think about this when you clicked this link or found this page. But I'm glad you're here. I've started this blog because I've got a lot of things to say about the NHL and hockey itself, which I believe is headed for a major American renaissance.

Let me begin by reviewing my personal hockey history. As some of you may know, baseball will always be my number one sport, as it has been since I was six. The Boston Bruins were always there, and I grew up with the solid-if-unspectacular group led by scoring machine Cam Neely, playmaker extraordinaire Adam Oates and indispensable blueliner Raymond Bourque. Injuries caught up with Neely, and the core of the Bruins changed to a young one.

These were the B's that I loved to watch, and followed with dogged intensity. While Joe Thornton never lived up to his potential (and still hasn't), these teams were marked by the likes of Billy Guerin, Jason Allison, Sergei Samsonov, Mike Knuble and Brian Rolston, and steady goaltending from Byron Dafoe.

During this time, I considered myself a real hockey fan. I remember Gretzky's retirement and Lemieux's comeback. I hated Eric Lindros and everyone associated with the Canadiens. I had miles of respect for Yzerman's Red Wings, Sakic's Avalance, Hasek's Sabres and Brodeur's Devils, always wishing the B's could get to that level.

But my interest in hockey always hinged on the fortunes of the Black and Gold. Allison was traded away, and the revolving door of coaches, GMs and goaltenders became too maddening to bear. The Jacobs family has never cared about anything but their own profit, and they proved that time and again. I tried to give them a chance after the lockout but the last straw was the Thornton trade, and his eventual Hart Trophy season with the Sharks. Why should I care about a team that didn't care about me?

Yet the salary cap made it so even cheap owners like Jeremy Jacobs had to play by the rules. Peter Chiarelli came in as GM, and after misfiring with Dave Lewis, he brought in Claude Julien and began to draft, trade and sign the type of players that would find success in the Eastern Conference.

The '07-'08 season was the starting point for myself, along with many other long-dormant New England hockey fans, to get back into it. The Bruins suffered through a rash of injuries, but so many young players stepped up and Tim Thomas emerged as a goaltender we could believe in. They took the Canadiens to a seventh game in a classic series, but couldn't close the door.

But for me, the writing was on the half-wall. The Bruins were back, and I'd be along for the ride.

As the Bruins established themselves as the class of the Eastern Conference throughout the '08-'09 season, I suddenly found myself turning into a full-fledged puckhead. I drafted my first fantasy hockey team. I was checking Yahoo's amazing Puck Daddy blog and RotoWorld's NHL page multiple times a day.

I became fascinated with the NHL and its brilliant, burgeoning Internet culture, spearheaded by fans unsatisfied with mainstream media coverage. The sport is ready to break out, headlined by superstars Crosby, Malkin and Ovechkin, but remains held back by incompetent leadership and the worst national TV deal in sports history. Unveiled to me was this insulated world of hockey that I'd either forgotten about or never knew existed. It was all so new and fun, and I totally invested myself with the unforgettable Bruins' season providing the backdrop.

Their season came crashing down in the most heartbreaking of fashions, causing me to nearly get into an accident on the way back from a Third Eye Blind concert. But I didn't stop watching, and after a series of incredibly fun live-Tweeting sessions during the Stanley Cup Finals, I realized it was time to expand to a blog. I'd been threatening to start a hockey blog during the season, but it never felt right. I wasn't confident in my abilities to write coherently about the NHL. But after a season of intense following, I'm ready.

Puckin' Right will follow a similar format to my eponymous baseball blog. I'll be focusing much of my attention toward the B's, but there will be plenty of other stuff to talk about as we look to the '09-'10 season. There will also be some posts centering on the men's and women's hockey programs at my beloved alma mater, the University of New Hampshire.

I plan on a post at some point this week about my hopes for the Bruins' offseason. Expect to see the name "Phil Kessel" quite a bit in that one. I'll also begin a series on potential free agents leading up to the annual start of free agency on July 1.

This site looks pretty sparse right now, and I hope to be able to spruce it up. If anyone has any ideas, let me know. My future in journalism sure won't be in design, as many of you are aware.

Bookmark this page and check back often. Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, but I'm going to have fun, and I hope you do too. Puckin' right, son.